Ashley Callingbull said the costume choices were a slap in the face to Indigenous people.
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Following a costume controversy during this year’s Miss Universe Canada contest, former crown holder Ashley Callingbull has taken on a new role with the pageant, ensuring Indigenous cultures are not misrepresented on stage.
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The move comes after Callingbull, the 2024 national winner and first Indigenous woman to hold the title, interrupted this year’s live broadcast to call out two contestants who appeared in what she saw as Indigenous-inspired regalia during the costume component of the pageant.
Callingbull was co-hosting the Aug. 8 finale in Windsor alongside national director Sonny Borrelli when she stopped the show to say there had been “cultural appropriation” when it came to two women’s costume choices.
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First, Jasleen Kaily, wore a tan, fur jacket, fringed skirt, and fur boots resembling mukluks, while another contestant, Karisa Haverkamp, strutted across the stage wearing a multi-coloured headdress.
“It was kind of a slap in the face to me because I thought: How could someone be so ignorant to allow this on stage?” Callingbull said. “Unless you’re living under a rock, how do you not know better?”
