Protests mar beauty show

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32461, 23 November 1970, Page 1

Protests mar beauty show

(N.Z.P.A. -Reuter— Copyright) LONDON, November 21. Miss Jennifer Hosten, of Grenada, starts her reign as the new “Miss World” today in spite of an unprecedented bid by feminist agitators to wreck the 20-year-old contest "Miss Grenada,” the West Indian island’s first representative in the contest looked completely unperturbed when she received her crown last night only minutes after screaming W’omen demonstrators surged towards the stage, hurling smoke and stink bombs, waving rattles, and blowing whistles. The 22-year-old air hostess’s only comment on the incident was: ‘1 do not know enough about what they are demonstrating against Women can do a lot but maybe in slightly more practical ways.” “Miss Africa South,” Miss Pearl Jansen, the first South African coloured 1 entrant was runner-up, with Miss Irith Lavi, from Israel, third. The Premier of Grenada (Mr Eric Gairy) was among the judges. The demonstration disrupted the show at the Albert j Hall just after the American comedian, Bob Hope, had mocked condemnations of the contest as “a cattle market” As Mr Hope dashed for cover the women concentrated their assault on repor- > ters gathered round the , stage. The suits of sev- | eral journalists were i splattered with blue ink and rotting tomatoes thrown by demonstrators.

One irate reporter picked up a chair ready to retaliate but the women, shouting and struggling, were taken out by police and security men, and the show continued after a five-minute delay. END CALM The end was unusually calm, as the elegant “Miss Grenada” showed no sign of breaking down in tears as her predecessors have done. However, she admitted: “It is too much to believe all at once, but I’m taking it in quite slowly.

"After recovering from the shock I should like to , give at least a small portion of the prize to ; underdeveloped areas of Grenada —in particular to children’s homes,” she said. The finalists apart from the first three, were from ~ Sweden, South Africa, United Kingdom and Bra- ; zH. » “ALL POLITICS” < ! The choice of Miss Jansen for second place brought a protest from Mrs Antainette Jessup, the mother of Miss Jillian Jessup, “Miss South Africa,” who was fifth. She said the contest was “all politics." In an interview with the Durban newspaper, the "Sunday Tribune,” she said: “The fact that there were four black judges speaks for itself. We don’t like to think that Pearl (Miss Jansen) came ahead of Jillian because of politics.” She said her daughter had written home saying she could never win the contest “She kept saying a black girl must win and she just had to step down in spite of many people forecasting that she might come first.” Miss Jansen’s participation in the contest was arranged after it was learnt that Miss Jessup had won the “Miss South Africa” title in a competition open to whites only.