Miss Cayman Legit

Monday, April 26, 2004

Controversy stirred up by an article in the Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner, over the eligibility of the newly crowned Miss Cayman Islands, Stacey Ann Kelly, was put to rest by pageant officials last Friday.

The 23 April article in The Gleaner, which appeared under the headline “Miss Cayman too Jamaican for some,” suggested that there was controversy regarding Ms Kelly’s eligibility for the title of Miss Cayman because of her Jamaican connections.

As far as pageant chairperson Lynne Whittaker is concerned, there is not controversy. “There is no doubt about her being eligible,” she said, “Stacey Ann has Caymanian Status and had every right to be Miss Cayman.”

According to The Gleaner, the controversy arises because the 25-year-old Stacey Ann was born in Jamaica to a Jamaican father and a Caymanian mother, and came to the Cayman Islands at the age of two.

Ms Whittaker pointed out, however, that there have been other Miss Cayman title holders in the past who were eligible by Status and not by birth in the country. “Stacey Ann is very much a Caymanian,” she said.

In The Gleaner’s report, Pat Ulett of the Ministry of Tourism was quoted as saying that controversy was standard feature of the competition. “Of course, there is always something (controversy) when someone is crowned and someone in the public doesn’t like them,” the article said.

Ms Whittaker, for one, does not understand why the selection of Ms Kelly as Miss Cayman would draw criticism. “She did extremely well at the pageant. She will make a very credible delegate from the Cayman Islands. She is very much entitled to wear the crown.”

This is the second time in the recent history of the Miss Cayman Island Pageant that a chosen queen was subject to controversy because of her Jamaican birth. A previous episode led to attempts to remove the crown from the winner on the night of the pageant, and the vehicle she won was torched.

Back...

Click here for reader comments...