Miss Finland slanted-eyes photo controversy has escalated into a wider debate on racism in Finland after beauty queen Sarah Dzafce, 22, lost her title over a viral image widely criticised as mocking East Asians — and after Finnish lawmakers reposted similar gestures, triggering diplomatic and commercial blowback.
What happened in the post that went viral
The controversy centres on a photo shared on social media in which Dzafce is seen pulling the corners of her eyes. The image circulated widely in Japan, South Korea and China, where the gesture is commonly viewed as a racist stereotype targeting East Asian features.
Dzafce said the photo was taken during dinner on 11 December 2025 and claimed the gesture was connected to a headache, while the caption — translated in media reports as “eating with a Chinese” — was added by someone else without her consent. She later apologised publicly, saying she regretted causing harm and stressing that respect for different backgrounds matters to her.
Why the Miss Finland organisation revoked the title
The Miss Finland organisation said stripping Dzafce of the crown was a “difficult but necessary” decision, arguing that the role requires a clear standard of conduct and respect toward all communities.
At a press conference in Helsinki, the organisation presented Tara Lehtonen as Dzafce’s replacement. Local reporting noted that the decision was framed not as a judgement on intent, but as a response to the impact of the gesture and the reputational consequences attached to an official public role.
The political spillover and the Finns Party controversy
The episode expanded beyond the beauty contest when two right-wing MPs — Juho Eerola and Kaisa Garedew — posted photos of themselves mimicking the same gesture, saying they wanted to show support for Dzafce. The posts were later deleted after public backlash.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned the MPs’ actions, calling them “childish” and warning that elected officials should set an example. According to international reporting, Orpo also issued an apology to citizens in Japan, China and South Korea as the controversy gained traction abroad.
The Finns Party, a junior partner in Orpo’s governing coalition, has said it is considering whether its MPs should face internal consequences.
The impact abroad and the Finnair backlash
The backlash has included calls on social media for travellers to boycott Finland. Finnair, whose long-haul business is closely tied to Asian markets, said that the posts by individual Finnish politicians do not reflect the airline’s values and pledged to welcome everyone “with respect,” in a statement published on its Japanese X account.
In Japan, the Finnish embassy reported receiving “numerous opinions and questions” about Finland’s efforts to address racism, while acknowledging that racism remains a societal challenge requiring sustained work.
Why this story resonates beyond a single incident
While the initial trigger was a single social media post by a public figure, the rapid escalation highlights two sensitivities that increasingly shape cross-border public debate:
- the way racist stereotypes travel quickly across platforms and languages, even when the original poster disputes intent;
- the higher standard often expected of public representatives, from beauty-pageant winners to elected politicians.
For Finland, the timing is politically delicate: the incident has fed into an ongoing domestic discussion on hate speech, discrimination and the responsibilities of governing parties when controversial remarks come from their own ranks.ì
