Miss World Netherlands quits the final of the beauty contest to be held in December. It is to avoid having to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dilay Willemstein, 21, revealed the surprise in an Instagram post on Tuesday. She said, “no longer represent the Netherlands … on the big Miss World stage.”
“This is partly due to the vaccination obligation,” she admitted, saying, “Personally I am not ready for this yet.”
“After I was crowned, we were told that if you want to go to Miss World you must be vaccinated,” she further explained to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD) of the Puerto Rico final scheduled for Dec. 16.
“Did not know in advance whether or not vaccinating would be a problem.”
“So I thought about it carefully and considered taking the jab, but at a certain point, I thought: I’m not ready for this at all. I don’t feel good about it,” she told the paper.
“This was simply the best choice for me,” she said. “I think I would have regretted more if I had done something that I actually don’t feel comfortable with.”
Miss World Netherlands CEO Katja Maes told the paper that they “did not ask about the vaccination status” of opponents because it was part of their private medical info, and “did not know in advance whether or not vaccinating would be a problem.”
According to Maes, the organization first learned about the Miss World Netherlands quits through an Instagram post.
“But we still love her, are proud of her, and wish her all the best,” she insisted.
Lizzy Dobbe, the runner-up, has taken Willemstein’s spot.
“It is of course very sad for Dilay. But I am very honored that I can travel to Puerto Rico”, she told AD of the “super cool and unexpected” development.
“People have to make their own choice and we have to accept that from each other,” she said of Willemstein’s stance against the vaccine