In beauty pageants, where most ladies compete for crowns and recognition, dreams are nurtured, talents celebrated and confidence empowered.
But for Chiaky Otuteye, a medical doctor, model and advocate who won Miss Intercontinental Ghana in November 2025, the experience after her victory took a different turn.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM on February 21, 2026, Chiaky recounted how she was subjected to online trolls over her looks and later faced what she describes as unfair treatment by organisers of Miss Intercontinental Ghana, Cloudz Entertainment.
According to the winner of Miss Intercontinental Ghana 2025, the prize package included a car, a fully funded trip to represent Ghana at the international level of the Miss Intercontinental pageant, a free wardrobe allowance during the international pageant, sponsorship for her projects and a cash prize.
She was officially crowned Miss Intercontinental Ghana 2025 on November 8, 2025.
Online backlash after crowning
Chiaky said the first signs of trouble came just hours after her victory.
According to her, the day after she was crowned, she went to bed around 3 a.m. and woke up by 6 a.m. Curious to see reactions to her win, she scrolled through her phone.
She opened X and noticed she had been tagged in several videos. She initially assumed people were congratulating her. Instead, she said the comments were harsh.
She then opened TikTok, where she says she usually goes to relax and watch funny videos. There, she found a video of an interview conducted immediately after she won.
The video had been taken by the official blogger for the pageant and uploaded online. Chiaky alleged that the caption attached to the video by the official blogger for the pageant, Bessah GH, twisted her words.
“When I was asked how I felt, I said I joined the pageant because I wanted people to understand that beauty includes brains and that they are not opposites,” she said.
She said the caption made it appear as though she did not expect to win and was suggesting that beauty was about brains, almost implying that she knew she was not beautiful.
People, she said, ran with that interpretation from the blogger’s post.
According to her, the comments were brutal. Some netizens labeled her “Mukui,” a slang term used to describe someone considered unattractive. She said she was compared to animals and mocked over her facial features.
Chiaky stated that she contacted organisers of the beauty pageant, who were expected to take over as her management to tell the blogger to take down the video.
“They told me that as a beauty queen, people would always talk. I asked if they could get the video taken down. They said they would try,” she recounted.
She said the video remained online for months and was only taken down in January, 2026, but has since resurfaced after being reposted by others.
Disqualification and emergency meeting
Chiaky further alleged that not long after the online backlash, she received a call from the organisers requesting an emergency meeting.
According to her, she was told to attend the meeting with her parents and to bring along her sash and crown.
At the meeting, she said she was handed a printed email which referenced calls she was not aware of, supposedly between management and the international organisers.
According to the email, the international body had received messages from concerned individuals claiming she did not meet their standards and had therefore decided to disqualify her.
“When I asked which standards I didn’t meet, they showed me a document listing poise, beauty, charm, intelligence and body requirements,” she said.
She noted that the objective requirements stated that contestants must be natural-born females and nationals of the country they represent, conditions she says she meets. She also said she met the stipulated height and physical requirements.
She argued that the remaining criteria, including beauty, poise and charm, were subjective.
She said during the meeting, the president of the organisation joined via Zoom and made comments about the expectations at the international level.
She further alleged that she was told they were not impressed with her Instagram page and did not like her looks.
“Over time, our communication shifted to emails and texts. The tone became hostile. It felt like they were looking for ways to fault me. Eventually, they started ignoring my messages. I followed up, even forwarding previous emails to them on WhatsApp. No response.
“Then I received an email stating they could no longer continue working with me. They claimed they didn’t want to lose their franchise and wanted to give other women the opportunity. I was given two days to return the crown and sash,” she alleged.
Dethronement and replacement
According to the 2025 Miss Intercontinental Ghana winner, the next morning after her meeting with organisers, she saw a press release on Instagram announcing that she had been dethroned due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
She said she had not been officially informed prior to the public announcement.
Subsequently, she saw another press release from the organisers announcing a new queen who would represent Ghana internationally.
A post on the official social media page of the organisers of the beauty pageant dated December 12, 2025, indicated that the 4th runner-up at Miss Intercontinental Ghana 2025, Patience Adedeafe Mawusi, also known as Ama Nyce, was appointed as the new queen after taking the crown from Chiaky to represent Ghana during the 53rd Miss Intercontinental competition held in Egypt in January 2026.
Chiaky maintains that she believes she was dropped from representing Ghana internationally because organisers claimed she did not meet their standards in terms of looks.
Organisers respond
In a statement released on their official social media page on January 20, 2026, Cloudz Entertainment, organisers of the pageant, stated that the matter is currently before the court.
“The matter is currently before the court and hence we will refrain from making any public comments pending the final determination of the case,” part of the statement read.
Watch the interview below:
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AK/AM
Source:
www.ghanaweb.com