Miss Venezuela competes at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant. Photo credit: Globovsion
Leila Lopes, Miss Angola, has been crowned Miss Universe. The 60th edition of pageant was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and watched by millions across the globe.
- Did the judges get it right? Reuters suggested that Lopes’ win was somewhat out of step with the preferences of the audience: “In fan voting, Lopes tallied only a 3.6 score for the swimsuit but earned a 7.2 for her evening gown. Fan voting, however, did not count in the final tallies from nine judges.” Reuters noted that business management student Lopes dazzled the judges with her brain but also “impressed them with her brain.”
“I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty,” she told the judges and the audience. “I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family, and I plan to follow those through the rest of my life.”
- Third African Miss Universe triumph. Angola Press delighted in the win and reported that Lopes “will continue to work with humility so as to justify Africa’s third Miss Universe title won in this (South) American country.” Lopes is the third African to scoop the Miss Universe title.
- Meaningless contest? “On Monday night, a bunch of preening airheads got on stage and took part in a meaningless contest. There was also a Miss Universe pageant. (Ha! We crack ourselves up!),” joked Gawker, which likened the Miss Universe contest to the Tea Party debate. The website ludicrously suggested that Lopes had beat out the competition “by escaping from the labyrinth without being eaten by the minotaur,” and sarcastically quoted judge Connie Young: “You have to keep in mind that these women are not objects just to be looked at. They’re to be taken seriously.”
