Government looking for way out of pageant business
(CNS): The government is in discussions with the Miss Cayman Islands Universe committee about pulling out of the franchise it holds for the beauty pageant and finding a supporter in the private sector, as is the case with the Miss World contest. The committee has now stripped Tiffany Conolly of the crown following her criminal conviction last week for assault.
However, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan blamed the control the global organisation has over franchisees for limiting his ministry’s ability to address the situation surrounding Conolly, which was a complete embarrassment for the committee and the tourism ministry.
Over the last year, they have blamed each other for the debacle whereby Conolly was allowed to compete in the contest, despite the existing charges against her, and then go on to win. The embarrassment was compounded this weekend when the story about her conviction on six counts, including assaulting a police officer, was picked up by the Associated Press international news wire service and then spread around the world’s online news media.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, Bryan said that under the conditions of the franchise, the Cayman Islands Government has very limited authority to make decisions independently of the Miss Universe organisation, which was revealed as a result of the situation surrounding Conolly. Now the pageant organisation is planning more changes to the conditions of the franchise, which is currently up for renewal, but these have not all been outlined. Bryan said the CIG was concerned about the nature of those changes, given that it would be obliged to accept them if it signs up again.
The government has contacted the global organisation about its concerns and it is still waiting for Miss Universe to respond. But given the lessons learned from this situation, the pending changes and the uncertainties, Bryan questioned whether the ministry should continue with the franchise. He said it might be better if it is taken over by the private sector, but he said he was going to discuss the issue with Cabinet.
“There is no question that this has been a very difficult situation for all concerned,” Bryan said, adding that having to ask permission from the Miss Universe organisation over the situation with Conolly had created difficulties for the CIG. “We couldn’t make decisions on behalf of the country over what we wanted to do because the franchise agreement obligated us to ask them first and they said we couldn’t do anything,” he said.
With that in mind and potential changes that have not been outlined and the need now to bid on the franchise in a matter of weeks, Bryan said that even though the CIG had been attached to the franchise for many years, it might be time to pull out and allow a more appropriate private sector franchisee.
“I know the public has been really annoyed,” he said about the difficult situation relating to Conolly. “I wasn’t able to comment on it because of the legality and that is one of the primary things I am concerned about,” he said. Bryan pointed to what he called the “stronghold” of the organisation that had prevented the ministry here from making a call based on the best interests of brand Cayman.
The current crown will now pass to Chloe Powery-Doxey, who competed at the pageant in New Orleans last month as the first runner-up and not as Miss Cayman. It is still not clear if any of the prizes that Conolly received as title holder will be revoked and given to Powery-Doxey.
Meanwhile, Conolly is awaiting sentencing on the assault conviction which is scheduled for May while the court awaits a social inquiry report.
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Category: Art & Entertainment, Local News
The government needs to sponsor it still but remove itself from any business of judging it. I’ve seen all the contests in the last 25 years and the best bet the Cayman Islands ever had in placing in the top five on the word stage was dat gal from the Brac, Schilo Scott. But you know how that goes, no way judges from Grand Cayman would let a Bracka win. In terms of beauty, swimsuit look, gown look, Ms. Scott would have been extremely competitive with the best of them on an international level. Cayman judges have never understood that 90 percent of these contests are based on beauty and body, that’s the hard truth of it. The ugliest gal in the contest has never ever won it on the world stage, regardless of how well spoken or smart she is/was. Cayman judges need to learn that truth and also stop being so bias in their judging.
Why does our “town” have separate beauty representatives in the first place?
If we continue this idea, then surely one lady is enough for all the necessary activities.
This Press conference was a joke, I have no real issue with the Cayman Airways aspect except the fact the MOT doesn’t seem to know the numbers. The Miss Universe mess is just Kenneth ducking and waiving as usual. She should have never been permitted to run with pending charges, we are looking for role models so raise the damn bar! I tend to believe he only wants out now as he got in trouble and is being held to account, so he wants to through out all his toys from the sandbox. Now when it comes to the port, the people spoke they want no development at the current port, that included cargo as well as cruise, so lets keep the facts straight people. The PPM combined them so they are locked together and we said NO! Any proposal to do any port work must be voted on by all registered Caymanians. Why the press and PACT government allowed the MOT to make such comments is irresponsible and goes against every aspect of why they were voted in. The Premier needs to snap Kenny in to line as he is getting very Alden like very quickly.
These people voted in a convicted drug dealer. Dah wah you get.
Kenny couldn’t find his way out a paper bag
Government should have NEVER been the franchise holder! Waste of public funds!
If CIG were to get out of all the many businesses that loose millions every month (Cayman Airways, Turtle farm, Civil service, and well pretty much everything they are involve with) Just think how much easier and cheaper it would be to live here. Instead it is one of the most if not the most expensive place to live on the planet. I think most here have figured out that it will never change until the culture does or it goes bankrupt (which may have already happened considering it’s great debt.)
Fools do foolish things and them blame them on the fools who gave them the job. This will not change.
You can fool some people sometimes but you can fool GTC voters all of the time.
Now you see the light?
anywhere else in the world, heads would roll for this shambles….but in cayman it’s business as usual.
welcome to wonderland
What a embarrassment he is …messing up over a the cargo port, traffic and taxis and not a decent transport system, beauty queens, billboards, building on the Governors house, illegal vendors, mortgages in arrears, helping real estate agents, sponsoring UK sports teams that have no connection to Cayman, the list goes on… what can he mess up next week?
I don’t think we have wait as long as next week 11:08
Also:
Wants to HE Gov out to make a public beach so DART can buy the current one
Sides with illegal vendors on current SMB who dont allow space for any visitor to enjoy beach without paying them some money
Unprofitable CAL flight to LAX just to appease Dart and Flowers, at the public expense
Tourism Attraction Board in shambles
Scranton park delays…
This guy just doesnt have what it takes to be a minister
Yeah but Kenny, besides all the puff & bluster, could you tell everyone who XXXXed up the first time around. I know it’s Ms Universe UK guidelines but I’m particularly interested in rules 3 & 5, – I can’t imagine they’d have been edited or omitted for Ms Universe Cayman, but if they have you need to have additional answers.
https://www.missuniversegb.co.uk/terms
Premier Panton, ‘Our commitment as the PACT Government is to be People Driven, Accountable, Competent and Transparent’. – my bleeping a**
I can’t believe I’m commenting on a pageantry competition in 2023.
Just stop it. It’s an absolute embarrassment of a competition.
The lack of embarrassment from some sections of the community just shows we have a long way to go.
In big countries, it’s a real niche event, with nobody really caring. Here, somehow, it’s actually a thing. Just stop it!
In the wise words of Bob Newhart:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw
I wonder why the men of CIG are so keen to be involved in this cringe-fest and why they were so keen on pushing the winner despite her issues.
I braved it up and read the article, – the only thing I came away with is a morphing situation, Kenny Santos
If I was the first runner-up, I would tell the MCC and the government to shove the crown/title if I am not going to get the prizes that come with it. Such a move is a joke on all EXCEPT Tiffany who still comes out on top if she is allowed to keep the prizes.
Don’t worry – it’s only tax payers money and we know government doesn’t like confrontation so they will just let Tiffany keep hers and give Miss Chloe the rewards as well.
If you were the First runner up, you would tell them to keep a monthly salary and a $70,000 scholarship?
“scholarship”
…keep the Crown/Title IF SHE IS NOT AWARDED THE PRIZES THAT COME WITH IT.
Tiffany keeps all of her prizes and the 1st runner up with only now get a monthly stipend. She keeps the prices she won which is far less thank Tiffany.
Government needs to be looking for a way out of the governing business.
We all need a way out of the Kenneth business
This pageant gave out an award for “Best Legs”. That should answer any questions about whether we should continue to support an anachronistic charade such as this.
Not to worry – we always have the Farm Queen competition instead, where the judging is bound to be on agricultural expertise.
She got legs
She knows how to use them
She never begs
She knows how to choose them
Rules for thee but not for me. Kenny and Mac keep thei titles with criminal convictins but not the average ciizen.
Pull out completely.
All is a waste of time and financial resources.
No Contestant from the Caribbean or Cayman Islands will EVER win such title!
Miss Jamaica has won many times since the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants. Bob Marley had his son Damian Marley with Cindy Breakspeare who won Miss World in 1976.
I believe some of the other Caribbean nations have as well.
I’m not sure if Cayman will ever have someone to win it, but there have been big winners throughout the Caribbean.
Trinidad & Tobago has won before, Jamaica won miss world last year.
FYI – Several winners and runners-up have been chosen from Caribbean representatives.
Cayman has had one top 10 at Miss World and two Miss Personality awards.
However, I agree it is time for the government to pull out of the pageantry shows altogether.
More pulling out would go a long way to improving things around here
Let’s include Venezuela in the Caribbean, then we are all set!
“I wasn’t able to comment on it because of the legality and that is one of the primary things I am concerned about,” he said. Bryan pointed to what he called the “stronghold” of the organisation that had prevented the ministry here from making a call based on the best interests of brand Cayman.
Calling all the BS on this right here. Typical blame shifting instead of taking responsibility.
How about beauty over brains for all contestants. No one cares anymore!
“Bryan said the CIG was concerned about the nature of those changes, given that it would be obliged to accept them if it signs up again.”
Oh – you mean the stunning announcement that mothers and married women would be able to compete? And Cayman would be obliged to accept that? Looking forward to Kenny’s explanation of why that’s an issue for government. Mind you, a government that thinks it should spend tax payers money on pageants in the first place is mind boggling.
It’s an issue because if you’re married you don’t need a beauty pageant to teach you anything (which the pageant is supposed to do, and in fact does – all competitors go through a few months of various types of training and events). If you have a child and you’re still young enough to compete, then you got knocked up and the Government cannot promote that. That’s why those two are issues. Kenny may not explain it well but it’s a matter of the purpose of the pageant and the message that it sends, so long as it exists. It cannot be a ‘hottest wife’ or ‘hottest girl mama warned you about who already has a baby daddy’ competition.
Come Kennith, tell us who told the Miss Miss Cayman Islands Universe committee to let Conolly compete in the pageant in the first place!
Just guessing here , but someone who thought charges of assaulting a police officer or a record of @no conviction recorded@ verdicts were trivial ?
Why is this complicated?
And how much was the Cayman taxpayer paying to have the franchise in the first place?
Kenneth gone. GT dont claim you no more guy
What a creepy, crass circus.
It’s about time! If some private sector entity wants to continue to fund this archaic objectification of women, then fine. But government should not be allocating funds for beauty pageants. Spend the money supporting something that impacts more citizens than a handful of women who happen to be blessed with good looks.
Yet colleague Jay is hosting, not one, but two pageants, side-by-side with barn livestock at Agricultural fair….on an Ash Wednesday.
Only people I can see stepping up to sponsor this are liquor stores, bars and auto stores. Nobody else would touch such a crass event with a barge pole.
A friend from high school won and it prompted growth in all of us. Every single one of us was stunned and took a good hard look at ourselves. Many responded with acts of personal courage in their own contexts, including myself. The pageant does impact more than the few women who compete.
let me get this straight, there are no international guidelines from Miss Universe that a contestant must NOT be facing ANY pending litigation or criminal convictions.
I can appreciate that when she entered it was still a pending matter, but surely as a pageant and if as Mr Bryan suggests, that ultimately Miss Universe pageant, would not be concerned by the potential fallout of the court case and the potential for a conviction?
I could understand if it was a lesser conviction, but assault, including assault of a police officer is a pretty big deal and I can’t imagine that the Miss Universe pageant didn’t think it was a big deal. Was Miss Universe consulted last year when the pending trial came up?
Am I honestly to believe that Miss Universe thought it was better to let her compete? This has nothing to do with her guilt or culpability, just the best look for the pageant in general.
Would it not have made more sense last year when the pending case came up, that Miss Cayman Islands Universe committee had said “Maybe let that play out in court and once all pending matters have been resolved, then you can compete?”
How has it helped to have Miss Connolly as Miss Cayman? She hasn’t been able to do anything as the crown holder and if I was her I would have stepped down. Surely the point of being the crown holder is to be involved in the community events and participate on the world stage? What honestly was the point?
I think that was the clear decision by the MU organization that she not compete internationally. Wether they had any say in her being removed locally is what’s key.
And since the local committee admitted that all the requirements was to enter was a clean police record, then I think Miss Conolly met that at the time she entered.
The Committee should have vetted their contestants with more scrutiny, by not doing so they put the government in a precarious position.
Mr Bryan was being too complimentary to the committee in my opinion. Ultimately they should be disbanded.
Anywhere else, government sub-agencies issue a simple press release that they are no longer supporting pageants. That’s it. It’s pretty easy, and long overdue.
The MCIUC was not fit for purpose,they supported Ms Connolly despite knowing that apart from her pending court case she had already been convicted of numerous assaults,how can this happen?.
Because the Minister told them to?