SA woman stripped of Miss NZ title

Avianca Bohm, 22, was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand. The 22-year-old Howick woman, who grew up in South Africa, is a resident of New Zealand, however she is not yet a citizen. 4 June 201 NZH 05Jun12 - Avianca Bohm, 22, who was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand on Saturday night, is confident her citizenship will be fast-tracked, saying it is just a matter of paperwork. Picture / Sarah Ivey / New Zealand Herald

Avianca Bohm, 22, was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand. The 22-year-old Howick woman, who grew up in South Africa, is a resident of New Zealand, however she is not yet a citizen. 4 June 201 NZH 05Jun12 - Avianca Bohm, 22, who was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand on Saturday night, is confident her citizenship will be fast-tracked, saying it is just a matter of paperwork. Picture / Sarah Ivey / New Zealand Herald

Published Jul 31, 2012

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Auckland - Replacement Miss Universe New Zealand winner Talia Bennett says it is “sad and unfortunate’’ how the crown came to be stripped from SA-born beauty Avianca Bohm.

This morning, organisers for the event named Bennett, 23, as the new winner after Bohm, 22, revealed in an e-mail from SA that she had lost her bid for citizenship.

Miss Universe New Zealand spokeswoman Zeisha Fremaux said the brief e-mail had come one day before the August 1 deadline given for her to fast-track her citizenship by so she could retain the crown.

The competition has been mired in controversy since Bohm was picked by judges who had reportedly been told the South African was not entitled to win because of her nationality.

The row became murkier when Bohm gave an interview to a SA newspaper slamming Miss Universe New Zealand organiser Val Lott for distorting facts to “save her own a**’’.

Bohm also said the Blues rugby side “suck’’ and claimed the Miss Universe New Zealand title was rightfully hers.

This morning, Bennett said being crowned the winner was “a wonderful honour’’.

She added: “It has been sad and unfortunate how events have unfolded and I am truly humbled in accepting my selection.’’

Bennett said she stood by Lott, who she and other contestants had “grown to love’’.

Bohm’s agent, Amanda Bransgrove, said her client, who is in SA, would be bitterly disappointed by the news.

She was critical of the way event organisers had handled the affair.

“I don’t think (Lott’s) intentions were pure. They were self-serving.’’ - New Zealand Herald

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