Saly has come under fire for posing next to Doron in a group picture with other Miss Universe contestants during preparations for the beauty pageant competition in Miami.
- Jan 19, 2015
AceShowbiz - Miss Lebanon Saly Greige has received backlashes from people in her country over a group photo which showed her posing next to Miss Israel Doron Matalon. The controversial photo was first posted by Doron on Instagram on January 11.
The selfie showed Saly and Doron posing along with other Miss Universe contestants like Miss Slovenia Urska Bracko and Miss Japan Keiko Tsuji. The photo was taken during preparations for Miss Universe competition in Miami.
Saly later responded to the backlashes by posting the controversial photo with Doron cropped out along with caption, "To all my supporters and Lebanese citizens, I would like to thank you indeed for your continuous support of Miss Lebanon at the Miss Universe contest... The truth behind the photo, since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss universe,I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss isreal, who tried several times to take a photo with me."
Saly claimed she was photobombed by Doron. "I was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia, suddenly Miss Israel jumped in and took a selfie, and uploaded it on her social media," she explained, "This is what happened and I hope to have your full support in the Miss Universe contest."
Following Saly's comments, Doron reacted on Instagram, posting, "It doesn't surprise me, but it still makes me sad. Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game, only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country. @salygreige_official."
According to Lebanese site The Daily Star, several citizens in Lebanon have requested that Saly "be stripped from her title for mingling with the citizen of an enemy state."
New York Post reported that back in 1993, Lebanon stripped Ghada al-Turk from her Miss Lebanon title after Agence France Press published photo of her "smiling arm-in-arm with her Israeli contender."
