Teen pageant winner decrowned after dyeing hair brown

[Desirée {PL Team}]

Fifteen-year-old Olivia O’Neil recently won the title of Miss Teen Wanganui, but her reign was short-lived. According to The New Zealand Herald, Facebook photos surfaced of her newly dyed brown hair (she was blond when she was crowned), and pageant organizer Barbara Osborne was incensed. "Is that a wig?" Osborne wrote. "I hope it is, don’t give me heart failure."

Olivia admitted that she had in fact dyed her blond hair dark, and said that if she wasn't allowed to dye her hair, then maybe pageant life wasn't for her. “Well you better decide, miss. Hand over your crown with an attitude like that. I’m sure someone will step into your place with manners," said Osborne, adding that O'Neil "would not go far in this world."


Olivia gave up her crown and went straight to the Herald. "I don’t think you can tell a 15-year-old that they aren’t going to go very far in life," she said. "It’s hurtful. She was always really harsh on the girls. And when she says things like 'present yourself better,' 'wear lots of makeup,' 'do 20 sit-ups,' it gets to you after a while."

Pageant spokesman Jevan Goulter confirmed with The Herald that her crown was stripped because of the hair dye. "The expectation in holding the crown [was] that she maintain the image she had when she won it," said Goulter. But is that an expectation or a clearly stated rule? He insisted that O'Neil's claims of harsh treatment behind the scenes are an exaggeration. "In a beauty pageant, it’s not about sugar coating and providing lip service to the girls. They should be treated the same way as in any other beauty pageant in the world."

We reached out to Jevan Goulter ourselves for a comment on O'Neil's standing. He responded, "I would like to make very clear that Olivia never had her crown taken off--she gave it back. The organization never removed it from her." Goulter continued, "It was never about her changing her hair color. It was about the attitude and the communication breakdown." He said the pageant has offered Olivia and her father the opportunity for a live television debate to discuss the matter. "We would like to see them accept this offer if they are completely confident about everything that they have said."

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Are you kidding me right now? These people have lost their mind. The girl is 15 years old and that lady is really gonna tell her she's going to fail at life because she has brown hair?? Ugh, people are so ridiculous. Would you have returned the crown?

[Honey B Hooligan {Madam}]

I would'a shoved that crown right up her pompous a......well...you know what I mean. That's the most ridiculous thing I've EVER heard.

That implies that their pageant really IS "just about the looks". I'm 100% sure that there is NO rule saying that you can't change your appearance after winning the crown.

[Brittany Harlequinn]

WOW.

Yep, that's all I got.

[Plum Pea Dahl {★}]

Aaaahhh...pageant life! The gowns, the crowns, the bingeing, the purging, the bitchy pageant organizers stripping young people of their self-esteem. Not to mention the endless scrutiny. I found this chart from the 50's on google:

Craziness! But I digress. Yeah, I would have returned the crown. Right after I hacked it to pieces! That poor girl.

[Karin Scissorhands]

This is ridiculous!

[Lolita Black]

Lol, I think I would too. Flaunt that crown on my brown hair and would have been like "Trust me, I'm a brunette."

Scarlet von Harlet said:

I would have worn the crown 24/7 just to spite her

[Roxy Tart {PL Team / Comm. Mgr}]

I have a different opinion then the rest of you. Obviously I have no issues with people dying their hair or being different and independent, however, in the pageant world as in mainstream modeling, there are rules, regulations and guidelines. I agree that what the lady said was mean, and yes, the girl is only 15, but if you want to be in the pageant world, you need to be tough. She didn't tell her she would fail in life for having brown hair, she was talking about the girls attitude. The pageant world is a hard world to live in, but it is a choice that these girls get to make. If this girl wants to dye her hair, and look how she wants, she picked the wrong place. You are basically told that when you enter. If the rule was that she had to keep the same look for her rein as she had when she won (which is a common rule), then she should have done that. Not adhering to that is just asking for problems. It seems to me that maybe she was trying to get attention.

As for giving back the crown, I wouldn't have given it back, because if I worked hard enough to get it, I wouldn't do anything to lose it.

[Birdie La Rouge]

I just had a funny thought. What if there was a pageant where the winner HAD to dramatically alter her look in order to keep the crown?! I know its silly, but I can just picture it... "Alright Miss blond Teen USA! Congratulations! Are you ready for your ultimate goth/punk, circus-freak make over? You wanna keep that crown doncha?!

"Oh my goodness... like, huh?"

Ha ha...

But yeah, I agree with what Roxy Tart said. To be a part of something where you are judged some much on your looks, one shouldn't be surprised that dying your blond hair brown would cause a stir. Pageants are lame that way.