Miss Papua New Guinea 2019/2020 has been stripped of her crown for a twerking video on TikTok. The 25-year-old Lucy Maino, who served as co-captain of Papua New Guinea’s women’s football team, faced intense online harassment after she shared a video of herself twerking.

The critics quoted that the incident reveals a deep-seated culture of misogyny in the country. Though twerking videos are common on the app, Maino’s now-deleted video was the one critics picked out who said it was not fitting for a ‘role model’. The video was downloaded from her private account and shared on social media platforms.

After receiving all the backlash, Maino was released from her duties by the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant PNG (MPIP PNG) committee this week. The committee said in a statement, “Our core purpose is empowerment of women. We are a unique pageant style platform that promotes cultural heritage, traditional values and sharing through tourism about our country and people. MPIP PNG promotes the virtues of confidence, self-worth, integrity, and community service with a parallel focus on education.”

A former Miss PNG, anonymously, said the incident showed deep-seated misogyny in the country. “I am sure if a male public figure did a TikTok [video], we would all be laughing or even praising him,” she said.

Maino was crowned Miss Papua New Guinea in 2019 as she became a cultural ambassador for the country and an advocate for women. She has continued in the role for an additional year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many people also criticized the committee for not supporting Maino after she was attacked for the video. The United Nations in Papua New Guinea expressed their dissatisfaction through a statement on Facebook, “We see the devastation of violence against women and children in this beautiful country. Some through bullying have lost their lives … It starts with telling women they should cover up. It starts with telling women, they shouldn’t dance like that.”