Latest news with #Magee
Euronews
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Miss World 2025 crowned amid new exploitation claims
The 72nd Miss World beauty pageant was held this weekend in India and Opal Suchata Chuangsri of Thailand was crowned Miss World. Chuangsri topped a field of 108 contestants in the contest held in India's southern Hyderabad city on Saturday. Hasset Dereje Admassu of Ethiopia was the first runner-up in the competition. Chuangsri received her crown from last year's winner Krystyna Pyszková. Speaking to ANI, Chuangsri said she would love to work in Bollywood if there is an opportunity. Chuangsri said: 'I feel very happy and proud. It is an honour to take the first Miss World crown to Thailand… I hope I have made them proud…If I get the opportunity, I would love to (act in Bollywood films).' Despite the celebrations, controversy has been brewing as Milla Magee, the reigning Miss England, has accused the organisers of the Miss World pageant of using her as window dressing. According to the Guardian, Magee said she agreed to take part in the 2025 Miss World pageant to promote her campaign to have CPR included in the school curriculum. However, she left before the grand final on Saturday, saying she felt she was being exploited, feeling like she and other women had been provided as entertainment for investors. Miss World organisers responded with a statement in which they referred to 'false and defamatory statements' that they said were 'completely unfounded and inconsistent with the reality of her time with us'. Julia Morley, the organisation's chief executive, gavean interview with the Hindu newspaper in which she accused Magee of leaving because she 'believed she didn't stand a chance in the competition'. Magee responded by saying that Morley's comments were 'vindictive and very bitter' and that she left because she 'wanted to stand for what I believe in and it didn't align with my values.' She said: 'I felt like I've been fed a false narrative of this system that promotes 'beauty with a purpose', that's supposed to be about advocacy and what you champion for. And I thought, right, this is a real good opportunity for me on a global stage to be able to talk about Go Far with CPR. This isn't about me standing on the stage, this isn't about what I wear. It's not about what I look like.' Magee claims she and other contestants were there more to entertain guests, with limited opportunity given to promote their causes.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Miss England Milla Magee shares pics from Ibiza holiday after leaving India mid-way through Miss World pageant
Milla Magee, the reigning Miss England, recently quit the Miss World pageant midway citing ethical concerns. Magee, 24, left India on May 16, accusing the Miss World organisers of exploiting contestants. She told The Sun that she was being made to feel 'like a prostitute' at the beauty pageant, which concluded in Hyderabad on May 31 with the crowning of Thailand's Opal Suchata Chuangsri. Two days after the grand finale of the Miss World beauty pageant in Hyderabad, Milla Magee seems to have reached Ibiza. The Spanish island is known for its stunning beaches and vibrant nightlife. Magee took to Instagram to share a series of photographs from Ibiza a few hours ago. Her Instagram Stories show a beach crowded with hundreds of tourists, a picture of calm waters captioned 'Elixir', and a photograph of the friend who seems to be accompanying her on the holiday. Milla Magee grew up in London, initially being schooled at More House. She later moved to Cornwall. She is currently based in Newquay in Cornwall, where she also works as a lifeguard. In a no-holds-barred interview with The Sun, Magee said that her experience at the Miss World pageant in Hyderabad left her emotionally shaken. She said she 'felt like a prostitute' and was 'farmed out for entertainment' by the organisers. 'I went there to make a difference, but we had to sit like performing monkeys. It's stuck in the past. Morally, I couldn't be a part of it,' she said. In an interview with The Hindu, Miss World chief executive Julia Morley rubbished these claims. Morley said that Magee's 'false and defamatory statements' were 'completely unfounded and inconsistent with the reality of her time with us'. She also added that Magee quit the pageant as 'she didn't stand a chance in the competition'.
Technical.ly
3 days ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
How startup leaders are navigating the new normal of remote and hybrid work
Remote work may be here to stay, but that doesn't mean startup leaders have figured it all out. One session at the 2025 Builders Conference tackled the question of how startups can balance the flexibility of remote work with the need for culture-building and engagement. Titled 'Remote vs. Hybrid for Startups: Recruiting & Ecosystem Engagement,' the session featured Raymond Magee of BloomCatch, Jake Stein of Common Paper and Dan Winston of BalancedWork, with Tally Wolff of Arlington Economic Development moderating. With a mix of fully remote, hybrid and in-person experiences among them, the panelists offered candid insights about what's working — and what isn't — in this evolving era of work. 'There are things we got for free in person that we didn't appreciate until they were gone,' Stein said. 'Bumping into each other, building rapport so you give someone the benefit of the doubt on an ambiguous Slack.' One key theme was how founders engage with their local startup ecosystems. Magee pointed to the conference itself as a powerful example: In-person gatherings offer value that remote work can't replicate, but the fact that sessions are recorded makes them more accessible to founders who can't make the trip. 'If you can't physically drive … three hours to get this knowledge firsthand and in person, the ability to watch the recording is key,' Magee said. 'Hybrid and remote work have changed how we engage in conferences and with the local community.' Winston's company, BalancedWork, helps organizations make data-informed decisions about when to meet in person or remotely using calendar data to analyze meetings. The tech then recommends which setup is best suited for the situation. He also noted that local innovation groups like incubators have become less about daily coworking and more about regular, intentional meetups. 'The day-to-day 'we're just sitting next to each other' isn't happening as much,' Winston said. 'Something is different — maybe lost. Whether that matters varies case by case.' Designing new norms, not chasing old ones Though the founders praised the benefits of flexibility, including being able to hire specialized talent from across the country, they were candid about the downsides of distributed teams. But Stein from Common Paper is finding ways to remotely recreate experiences that often take place in person. 'Junior folks learn by eavesdropping; remote loses that,' Stein said. To fill that gap, Common Paper has implemented recurring 'scheduled unscheduled' Zoom calls — intentionally agenda-less spaces where employees can talk about anything from dogs to deal flows. Magee said he regularly meets with his junior team members, often daily, for their first few months and starts every meeting with 5 to 10 minutes of personal small talk because it deepens relationships. 'Once they see you invest in them on their terms,' he said, 'they'll work hard for you.' Leadership behavior sets the tone, Winston noted, and actions matter more than words. 'People sense how a leader feels,' he explained. Ultimately, each panelist stressed that remote and hybrid work can be effective — but only with intention. 'Remote work is a privilege, not a right,' Magee said. 'It's on both the employer and the employee to make it work.' Asked whether they would recommend a remote job to a recent college graduate, the panelists agreed that in-person experience offers value early in a career. 'Take an in‐person one,' Winston said. 'We humans absorb more than screens can show.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Police make surprise discovery in nappy after dad found collapsed in Pepe's Piri Piri
Police discovered cocaine hidden inside a nappy after finding a dad unconscious at a chicken shop. Up to £7,500 of the class A drug was seized from Steven Magee after he was found collapsed at Pepe's Piri Piri at Halewood Shopping Centre. The dad to a three-year-old child was said to have resorted to dealing having racked up massive debts from his use of illicit substances, which saw him "blow" £9,000 of redundancy pay on his addiction. His mum was left in tears today as he was locked up in spite of his "resolution to getting off the cocaine". Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Merseyside Police were called to the takeaway on Leathers Lane shortly after 6pm on June 10 last year after Magee was found lying unconscious on the floor, having suffered a suspected "medical episode". When officers searched his person in order to establish whether the 36-year-old, of Mansell Drive in Halewood, was carrying any medication, they instead discovered £500 in cash and 55g of cocaine at 82% purity, drugs worth between £1,600 and £5,580. READ MORE: Thug slashed mum in revenge attack at festival then kept drinking and taking drugs READ MORE: How much Colomendy will cost Liverpool Council Iain Criddle, prosecuting, detailed how PCs then visited his home address to "inform his next of kin" of the incident and spoke to his mum. She was described as "appearing worried" and "trying to conceal something", after which a further 19.3g of cocaine, valued at £772 to £1,930, was found hidden inside a nappy. Several phones and tick lists were also seized from the property, while traces of white powder were noted on a "child's plate". Under interview, Magee told detectives his "mother was not involved". Julian Nutter, defending, told the court: "His parents are in court today, and they are very respectable people who have watched their son become an addict of cocaine. He managed to blow £9,000 of redundancy money in lockdown. "At the time, his mother was horrified and did what any mother would do to try to help her son. After all of this happened and the dust had settled, his mother and father settled upon getting him off his addiction. Initially, he was shut in a room and had to come off it the hard way. "This case is relatively old. What many individuals who are awaiting punishment do is nothing at all, putting it out of their minds and making no effort to improve themselves. He has applied a resolution to getting off the cocaine. "His mother has dipped into her savings and paid off the debt that lies behind this. All of that is positive. One of the reasons that such positive action has been taken is that there is a young child, who is just over three years old. "He has no previous convictions for drug trafficking offences. He is also epileptic. His epilepsy is made far worse by stress. He has been having an increasing number of fits with this hearing getting closer. He is not in a particularly good place. "He has spent the past 11 months or so rehabilitating himself. It has been a wake up call. In my respectful submission, in the exceptional circumstances of this case, it is not too late and there is room here to take an exceptional course and suspend the sentence of imprisonment." Magee admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Appearing in the dock wearing a white shirt and sporting short brown hair, he was jailed for 30 months. His mum was seen wiping away tears with a tissue in the public gallery and holding hands with her partner as her son was told he would receive an immediate prison term. Sentencing, Recorder Richard Pratt KC said: "Although you have previous convictions involving the possession of drugs, you have no convictions for drug trafficking. "You are the son of excellent parents who have done everything they can to cope with your deteriorating drug addiction. I note that you are a carer to a three-year-old child. It is to your credit that you have kept out of trouble since June 2024 and you have done much to rid yourself of your terrible addiction to cocaine. "You, more than anybody else in this courtroom, well know the perils of cocaine addiction. That is why the court must punish those involved in the supply of it. "This was by no means the smallest of operations, but it is in the context of street dealing. I bear in mind that you became involved because you were placed under financial pressure by those above you in the hierarchy."
The Wire
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Wire
Miss England Quits Miss World Contest Alleging Exploitation; Telangana Govt Launches Probe
Hyderabad: The Telangana government took swift action on Sunday (May 25) to troubleshoot and deploy three senior woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to inquire into charges of 'exploitation and disrespect' by Miss England 2024, Milla Magee, at the ongoing Miss World pageant in Hyderabad. Shikha Goel, the Director General of Police (crimes) who is also in-charge of the women safety wing, as well as Saisree, the Deputy Inspector General of Police of the same wing and the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Special Branch, Cyberabad, where the beauty contest is being held at a star hotel, videographed the statements of nearly 50 participants to vouch for Magee's serious remarks that has left the government rattled. The officers were asked to submit a report to the government on Monday (May 26). Chief minister A. Revanth Reddy, who was in New Delhi for the NITI Aayog meeting at the time, was in regular contact with organisers and officials after ordering the probe as it involved national pride and prestige. 'Farmed out for entertainment' In an interview to British tabloid The Sun after she quit the contest and returned home, the 24-year-old contestant said that 'she felt like a prostitute' and was 'farmed out for entertainment' by Miss World organisers. She decided to take a stand after being paraded in front of wealthy male persons. She branded the show 'outdated and stuck in the past' and said some of the 109 finalists who remained in the fray were berated for being 'boring'. She also claimed that the contenders were told to wear makeup 24×7 and dress in ball gowns all day, including at breakfast. However, she said the final straw was when they were told to entertain middle-aged men as a 'thank you' for the money they put into the show as sponsors. 'There were two girls at each table of six guests. We were expected to sit with them (guests) for the whole evening and entertain them as a thank you. Miss World is supposed to have the same values (of sixties and seventies), but it's outdated and stuck in the past. They made me feel like a prostitute,' the contestant said. 'We were there to please these people and sit like performing monkeys. I couldn't stand it,' she said, adding that one official reprimanded them for being 'boring' after an event. 'At one point, I tried to talk about the causes I was supporting but it was obvious the men at the table were not interested. Instead, there was weird small talk that left me feeling uncomfortable. I went out to make a difference, to help create a different future, perhaps inspire young people. Never in a million years did I expect to find myself in that situation', she said. Magee also described being publicly reprimanded by a pageant official after an event. She said, 'She (the official) clapped her hands right in my face to get my attention. It was so disrespectful, like she was addressing children rather than a coach full of adult women'. 'It was a small incident but it showed what they really thought of us and how little respect we were being treated with', The Sun quoted Milla as saying. A dinner was hosted by the government on May 13 at Chowmahalla Palace, the official residence of the erstwhile dynasty of Nizams of Hyderabad, in the old city. Milla shared the table with Miss Wales 2024 and some others. She had arrived in Hyderabad on May 7, three days before the pageant started off with a grand inauguration at an auditorium. The event was a mix of visits by participants to several tourism spots in Telangana to promote the state globally and components of the competition leading to the grand finale on May 31. On May 16, a day after the dinner, Milla told the organisers that she was standing down citing 'personal and ethical' concerns and flew home to Newquay, Cornwall, after talking to her mother. On short notice, her place in the final was replaced by last year's Miss England runner-up Charlotte Grant. Milla was on a campaign to promote awareness about Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) which was supported by Prince of Wales William as part of the Miss World contest. She even gave a demonstration of CPR while performing musical notes at the competition. 'Completely unfounded' After Milla's interview in The Sun , Julia Morley, chairperson and CEO of the Miss World Organisation, issued a clarification that 'these claims were completely unfounded and inconsistent' with the reality of the competition. In a statement, Morley explained that Milla initially requested to leave due to a reported family emergency involving her mother's health. As a mother and grandmother herself, she said she responded to Milla's situation with compassion and immediately arranged her return to England, placing the well being of the contestant and her family first'. The organisation released unedited videos recorded during Milla's stay in India in which she expressed gratitude, joy and appreciation for her experience at the competition. 'These videos reflect her own words and sentiments, and serve as a direct contradiction to the recent false narratives,' it said, adding that 'Miss World remains committed to truth, dignity, and the values of Beauty With a Purpose,' which Milla dismissed as outdated. In one of the clippings, Milla was heard saying, 'I am grateful to Telangana for hosting me here. It was amazing, as soon as we arrived and touched down over the plane, we didn't have to lift a finger. Everyone was asking if they could do anything for us. They are all so accommodative. The gratitude and hospitality is so overwhelming. The 'biryani and curry' here is so wonderful. I have been eating too much since coming. You have to stop me from that. My eyes are open to the first week and we still have three weeks to explore here.' Meanwhile, the three woman IPS officers who reached the hotel on Sunday carried out a thorough investigation into circumstances faced by the participants at their places of stay and during their outings. The probe focused on the 'table episode' that Milla had raised. They questioned Miss Wales, Julia Morley and Special Chief Secretary of Tourism Jayesh Ranjan who is the pointsman for the event on behalf of the state government and other officials. Jayesh Ranjan told media persons that Milla's charges were totally baseless. He said she was in the city for only eight days. None of the participants complained of confronting anything uncomfortable. Milla and Miss Wales seated together at a table at Chowmahalla along with an IAS officer, his wife, daughter-in-law and a woman friend. He said, 'We reviewed the CCTV footage from that night. It clearly shows that Milla Magee was seated with one man and four women, the gentleman being a senior IAS officer, accompanied by others. He is known for his impeccable reputation and professionalism. To suggest he made any inappropriate advances, especially in the presence of his family members is absurd and unbelievable.' He added that he himself spoke to over a dozen contestants from various countries, including Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their experiences were completely contradictory to what Miss England has alleged. Miss Wales also rejected the claim and said that no one misbehaved with them. The only discomfort on the occasion, she said, was when too many people gathered to take selfies with the beauty queens. The Chowmahalla cultural evening and dinner was part of three formal social events organised for the contestants to interact with selected guests; the others being a visit to Ramoji Film City on May 17 and high tea at Telangana Secretariat on May 18. All three events had a curated guest list which were personally selected by Ranjan. Milla only attended the first one before quitting the pageant. Miss World organisers said they also tried to talk to Milla in England to get to the truth. The incident took a political turn locally with the working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi, K.T. Rama Rao, demanding an impartial and thorough investigation. Expressing shock over Milla's experience on Telangana's soil, citing its has a rich culture of respecting women, Rao said he was distressed over her plight as the father of a daughter. He expressed his apologies on behalf of people of the state. He condemned the government's approach of attempting to blame the victim instead of probing her allegations. The BRS also raised another incident earlier when a local girl cleaned the feet of a contestant with cloth when the team was on a visit to the UNESCO-recognised Ramappa temple. The contestants were made to sit on a platform and wash their feet in larger bronze plates before entering the temple. One of them found herself at odds when the girl stepped in to help. The BRS protested that it amounted to the breach of self-respect of womanhood in the state. So far in Miss World, competitions have been held to judge sports, talent and head-to-head challenges. The semi-finals are on Monday where the contestants will showcase their social service activities to the jury. Miss India 2024 Nandini Gupta is in the competition.
