Former Miss Barbados claims Miss World 2000 was 'rigged' in Priyanka Chopra's favour, calls her 'unlikable'
Former Miss Barbados Leilani McConne, who took part in the Miss World 2000 beauty pageant, has claimed that the event was rigged in Priyanka Chopra's favour. Chopra, then 18, went on to win the pageant held at the Millennium Dome in London, United Kingdom. McConne spoke about the pageant after controversy arose regarding Miss USA 2022. Miss Texas USA R'Bonney Gabriel won the title but Miss Montana USA Heather Lee O'Keefe and Miss Georgia USA Holly Haynesalleged that the competition was rigged in her favour. Gabriel has refuted the claims. McConne shared a video on YouTube, and claimed that she "literally went through the same thing at Miss World."
"Me, I went through that," she said. Priyanka's co-contestant added that the Bollywood star, who has also been a part of many Hollywood projects, won because of favouritism, and that she was not likeable.
“So, I was Miss Barbados and I went to Miss World, and the year I went, Miss India won. Mind you, Miss India had won the previous year," she said. Yukta Mookhey had won the Miss World pageant the previous year.
McConne also said on to say that Priyanka was using a skin tone cream and that her skin was splotchy. "I did not say it was a bleaching cream, it was a skin tone cream. It didn't work, her skin was blotchy so she did not want to remove her sarong. So during the actual judgement, she is actually in a dress," she went on.
"And she is Meghan Markle's best friend so go figure," McConne added.
Leilani McConne's disgruntlement with Priyanka is not surprising. While PeeCee used her Miss World title to build a successful career in Bollywood and more recently Hollywood, McConne does not appear to have progressed much in terms of her professional career.
Meanwhile, Priyanka will next be seen in James C. Strouse's romantic drama 'It's All Coming Back to Me'. Also starring Sam Heughan, Russell Tovey, Omid Djalili, Celia Imrie, and Celine Dion, the film releases on May 12, 2023 in the US.
