Barely a week after Miss Angola – Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe 2011, criticisms starting flying fast and furious that she had falsified some documents when she applied for the beauty pageant.
According to allegations, Leila Lopes falsified documents to enter and win the Miss Angola-UK beauty pageant earlier this year. The crucial win in England is what gave Lopes the opportunity to enter the Miss Universe contest and win Miss Universe 2011.
An Argentinian newspaper, Infobae, alleges that Lopes, with help of the pageant organizer Charles Mukano, falsified documents to certify Lopes as a student of business management at a British school, even though it is evident that she has always lived in Angola.
With these false documents, the newspaper says, Lopes entered the Miss Angola-UK pageant. They further allege that Mukano might also have bribed judges in England to ensure Lopes’ win.
If the allegations prove to be true, Leila Lopes could be disqualified and banished from all beauty pageants.
Recently, other rumors have surfaced that Lopes is not a Black African woman, but instead a Cuban, who can speak fluent Spanish.
However Miss Universe officials told AOL Latino they have never even heard of Charles Mukano, and the Miss Angola pageant organizer is Renato Guttler. And they also denied other rumors about Lopes’ so-called Cuban parents and her fluency in Spanish.
“We also heard the rumor that her parents were from Cuba and [that] she speaks Spanish, which is false. We have never heard of [Charles Mukano]. The national director who ran the Miss Angola pageant is Renato Guttler,” the Miss Universe Organization said.
Lopes is the first Miss Universe from her country, but came under attack in the following days by Miss France and fans of Miss Phillipines as undeserving of the crown.
Miss Universe officials suspect the false allegations are the result of critics who do not want Miss Angola to wear the crown. “After all,” supporters say, “Miss Universe is the most beautiful woman in the world for that year. And some people are uncomfortable with Leila Lopes, a woman from central Africa, being called more beautiful than their norm.”
