‘I decided to make a stand’: Teen beauty queen claims she was so badly bullied by pageant bosses she had to quit as Miss Teenager Universe
Jasmine Stringer was thrilled when she landed the prestigious title, but claims she was 'blackmailed' and issued ultimatums
A 19-YEAR-OLD girl who won a worldwide beauty pageant has handed back her crown after claiming she was treated badly by bosses.
Jasmine Stringer is from the Gold Coast in Australia and she was only 17 when she landed the title of Miss Teenager Universe in Panama.
Despite her tender years, Jasmine became so unhappy with the way she was treated by those in charge of the event that she quit.
"They [the pageant organisers] were sending me many aggressive emails, blackmailing me...and giving me ultimatums," she told .
Jasmine insists her fellow contestants were fantastic, but it was what happened after she won that was the problem.
She didn't think she had a chance of winning when she entered, so was stunned when she eventually triumphed.
Problems began when Jasmine was back in Australia, and the organisers of the international competition began putting pressure on her.
"I won the title and came back to Australia and leading up to me having to hand over the crown the following year is when I made the decision to resign due to bullying from the international organisation," she told the TV show.
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"The Australian organisation decided that in 2014 they were not going to send another contestant to the pageant just because they weren't happy with the way the pageant was run.
"The international pageant started contacting me directly saying that if I didn't find a contestant myself, fund the trip to Guatemala and pay their $2,000 (£1,110) entry fee that they would publicly strip me of the title.
"They were sending me many aggressive emails, blackmailing me saying, 'If you don't do this, we're going to strip you of your title.'
"I was only 17 years old and I just wasn't going to put up with that so I decided to make a stand and resign from the title because it just wasn't worth it."
Jasmine has accused the Miss Teenager Universe organisation of bullying her in the past, claiming she took her role seriously.
"I have represented as Miss Teenager Universe at an exceptional level expected of a beauty queen but unfortunately the organisation has not shown me any respect in return," she previously said.
The directors of the Australian organisation left the company, but at the time they gave Jasmine's decision their full backing.
Despite her story, Jasmine hasn't ditched beauty pageants. This week she will fly to Bali to take part in one called Miss Universe Australia, and she claims to have seen a lot of change in the industry already.
Miss Teenager Universe have been contacted for comment.