The Miss World 2025 pageant has been thrust into controversy days before its finale in Hyderabad, India, after Miss England Milla Magee abruptly withdrew and levelled serious allegations against the organisers, claiming she and other contestants were made to “entertain” male guests.
Magee, 24, from Newquay, Cornwall, described the experience as “outdated” and likened the treatment of contestants to “performing monkeys.” Speaking to The Sun, she alleged that participants were paired with guests during a formal dinner event and expected to provide company and conversation throughout the evening.
“I didn’t come here to be farmed out for people’s entertainment,” Magee said. “Miss World is supposed to uphold values, but instead I felt humiliated and disrespected.”
Originally, Magee’s withdrawal on May 16 was attributed to a family emergency, but her subsequent statements have ignited a fierce response from the Miss World Organisation, which called the claims “false and defamatory.”
In a rebuttal, Julia Morley, Chairwoman and CEO of the Miss World Organisation, said Magee’s departure was handled with care and compassion due to her reported personal emergency. Morley added that unedited footage from Magee’s time in India, in which she expresses joy and gratitude, contradicts her current accusations.
The Telangana state government, which co-hosted the pageant’s social events, also launched an internal inquiry. Jayesh Ranjan, a senior government official, said CCTV footage from the event in question — a cultural evening at Chowmahalla Palace — shows Magee seated with a senior Indian civil servant and his family.
“To suggest inappropriate conduct in the presence of a wife and daughter-in-law is both exaggerated and insulting,” Ranjan said, adding that no similar complaints were received from other contestants, including Miss Wales who shared Magee’s table.
Pageant organisers have since replaced Magee with the Miss England first runner-up, Charlotte Grant, who arrived in India ahead of the finale scheduled for May 31.
While the Miss World Organisation moves swiftly to contain the fallout and protect its image, Magee’s claims have ignited fresh debate over how beauty pageants treat their participants and whether such institutions are keeping pace with evolving standards of respect and equality.
