Beauty Queen wants to represent Trinidad & Tobago at Miss Universe 2018

(Trinidad Newsday) A High Court judge has dismissed an application for an injunction sought by a beauty queen pageant contestant against the Miss Universe Organisation.

Justice Frank Seepersad yesterday dismissed the application of Martrecia Alleyne who is seeking to represent this country at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant on December 17, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Alleyne has taken the former local pageant franchise holder Jenny Douglas and the Miss Universe Organisation, based in New York, United States, to court, claiming after delegate Yvonne Clarke was stripped of her Miss TT/ Universe title in October, 2017, she, as the first runner up, was selected to represent this country at the competition in Las Vegas.

She said after Clarke was reinstated as the TT delegate for the 2017 pageant, she was told she would be nominated for this year’s competition.

However, Alleyne says in December she received an e-mail from Douglas’ agent which said the franchise was restricted from allowing the Miss Universe TT 2017 delegate from representing the country in the 2018 pageant.

She said by this time she had already started asking for sponsorship from her Unicomer Trinidad, her employer, who provided her full financial support and also began communicating with charitable organisations as part of her duties.

Alleyne said she also attended health fairs and workshops to advance the causes of bullying and Alzheimer’s, which were her chosen causes for the pageant.

Delegates for the 2018 pageant are required to register and start preparations for the 2018 pageant by yesterday.

Her injunction was to prevent the Miss Universe Organisation from selecting anyone to represent TT at the pageant in December.

However, Seepersad said he was not prepared to injunct the Miss Universe Organisation from selecting a suitable candidate for the 2018 pageant, especially when Alleyne may have a cause of action against Douglas, or where compensation was an adequate alternative in the case.

Alleyne’s lawyer Josiah Soo Hon said compensation would not benefit his client, but told the judge she was holding discussions with the Miss Universe Organisation to arrive at a settlement.

However, Seepersad granted Soo Hon’s application for an extension of time in the substantive claim, expressing hope that the settlement discussions prove to be beneficial to Alleyne.