What was supposedly a selfie of a few Miss Universe contestants while on tour in South Florida has stirred controversy across the nations, especially all over the Middle East.
Saly Greige, Miss Lebanon, is currently facing some backlash back home right after she smiled willingly on a photo posted by Miss Israel, Doron Matalon, the Daily Star Beirut reported.
On Jan. 11, Matalon posted an image on Instagram showing her next to her competitor Greige, together with Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia. The picture features the four smiling beauties while in Wynwood, captioned "Good morning from Wynwood!"
Before Miss Lebanese could start feeling the fiery competition spirit, she has already been put on the hot seat for posing beside Miss Israel. Lebanon considers Israel its enemy state and forbids any form of contact with them.
Greige defended herself through social media against plots to remove her from the contest. She has revealed that Matalon just jumped in and became an instant photo bomber in what was supposed to be a picture of just three contestants.
During the weekend, Greige posted Miss Israel's photo on Instagram; however, she decided to crop out Matalon.
"The truth is, since my arrival here to join the Miss Universe contest, I was already very cautious in avoiding a photo where Miss Israel is also in," Miss Lebanon said. She added, "I was posing for a photo with Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan, when out of nowhere, Miss Israel joined-in. Unfortunately, she also took the photo to her Instagram account."
Matalon, on the other hand, addressed the issue via Instagram saying, "This does not surprise me at all, but this makes me very sad." She added, "Too bad you can't put away hostility even during this three-week game. This is once in a lifetime experience for us to meet girls from other parts of the world."
Eighty-eight countries have sent representatives for this pageant and one will be named Miss Universe 2014 on Sunday, Jan. 25.