OXANA FEDOROVA MISS UNIVERSE 2002

OXANA FEDOROVA MISS UNIVERSE 2002 EXPLAINS WHY SHE GAVE UP HER TITLE "I wanted to finish my studies in Civil Law. At the beginning, the pageant organizers were willing to let me finish, but later they changed their minds...because they were going to lose a lot of money. It was then that I gave up my title." 26 February 2003 - Can you tell us the real story about how you became Miss Universe? --Everything started in Saint Petersburg because I had some free time and my friends encouraged me to participate in the Miss Saint Petersburg Pageant. I won the contest and later I also became Miss Russia. I thought that this would be the end of my pageant career because I wanted to continue my studies. However, it ends up that the following year, the Miss Russia organizers had not elected a new Miss Russia and they begged me to go to Puerto Rico to represent my country. I thought that since the year before I had not attended the pageant due to my studies, I could take advantage of this new opportunity. I left without making preparations and without any hopes of winning. I did not even take with me an appropriate wardrobe. The difference between me and the other young women was that I did not care whether I won or not, while they had that dream. It ends up that a few days before the final night, I had a dream, well, more like a nightmare, that I was going to win. I asked myself, "What should I do?" When I was finally elected, instead of returning home, I went to New York. The Russian organizers had not planned things appropriately since a Russian woman had never won this title before. Three months later, I received the contract for "Miss Universe" but I refused to sign it. Later, I discussed my future with the organizers. I explained to them that I wanted to finish my thesis at the university, and that I had to return to Russia for at least two months. At the beginning, they agreed, but then, they changed their minds and told me that they were going to lose a lot of money if I returned to my country since I would not be able to travel to all of the countries that had invited me as Miss Universe. They began to say, "Are you prepared for this role? We do not think you are. What are we going to tell the press, that because you are an intelligent and beautiful woman, we let you return to your country so that you could finish your courses at the university? We do not think that would give a good impression." After hearing those comments, I thought that the best thing for me to do would be to give up my title. That bothered the organizers because when I was elected they thought that I was the "Ideal" Miss: beautiful, studious, and determined, and for them, I was a good example. The truth is that a person like me cannot feel satisfied with just smiling and posing because for me that is not the most important thing. -The international press stated that you are a whimsical person and that you did not accept the title because maybe there was somebody in your life that did not allow you to accept it. --Well, it was about my future, and when it comes to decisions that are that important, I do not allow anyone to influence me. I am the one who decides. I don not regret anything because I can tell you that these contests are not as extraordinary as one thinks. One hears of noble causes, of the fight against AIDS, for example, but I think that in reality, a lot of publicity for the contest is involved. The only positive mission that I was involved in as Miss Universe was a trip to Kenya where I was able to help a lot of poor people. In Russia, many were against the title that I won because they would say that a member of the Police Command should not be a beauty queen. The truth is that I consulted with my supervisors and I think that they did not see any problems because they never imagined that I would win. There were negative reactions, as well as positive ones, and the Russian press which had shown almost no interest in my win, suddenly, after my return from the USA, began to write many articles about the subject. I also want to point out that during a short period of time, I was a model, and that helped me to feel comfortable on television because I no longer feared the cameras. I LOVE YOU OXANAAAA

Posted in: Oxana Fedorova