VietNamNet Bridge – The Department of Performing Art has officially banned Luu Thi Diem Huong from performing within Vietnam after she was found to have lied about her marital status before competing in Miss Universe 2012.

Beauty queen’s marital status to be verified

Luu Thi Diem Huong

The decision has been sent to the departments of culture, sports and tourism of cities and provinces after the Department of Performing Art received an explanation from Hoan Vu Joint Stock Company (UniCorp), which sent Diem Huong to the contest.

The Department of Performing Arts’ document stated that on March 7, the department had collected all evidence, which showed that Diem Huong had been dishonest, and she in fact had got married in 2011, before joining Miss Universe 2012. The information was leaked as her husband was filing for divorce.

According to the Department of Performing Arts, Diem Huong is Vietnam’s first representative who competed at an international beauty contest while married. She is also the first to be banned from performances for dishonesty.

Nguyen Dang Chuong, Head of the Department of Performing Arts, said, “It is a really rare case. Despite knowing all regulations, she decided to lie.”

One of the regulations to enter the Miss Universe contest is to never have been married.

E-mail from Miss Universe Organisers denied as a fake

Unicorp has denied receiving a letter from the organisers of Miss Universe, regarding Diem Huong's marital status, saying that it was a fake letter leaked to the media.

E-mail sent from ermworld1@gmail.com

Many Vietnamese newspapers reported that Luu Thi Diem Huong, a contestant in Miss Universe 2012, was accused of having been married before entering the contest without divulging the information. If the accusation were true, this would have disqualified her from the competition.

In the following days, another letter, allegedly from the contest organisers, was sent to Unicorp, the license holder of Miss Universe Organisation in Vietnam, to say that the scandal had damaged their reputation.

However, Unicorp denied ever having received this letter. Representatives from Unicorp said, "The letter was sent from ermworld1@gmail.com. ERMworld is the name of a Singaporean firm that has held various beauty pageants. But the email address is unofficial so we're not sure if it's really from ERMworld. In addition, Miss Universe Organisation would not ask another party to send such a letter to the media on their behalf."

According to Unicorp, the email is suspect and might have been sent to stir up controversy and harm their reputation. They also said that Huong's dossier looked legitimate and they have not managed her since the Miss Universe contest. As of now, they have not been able to contact Huong.

In order to avoid similar situations and to ensure of the contestants' eligibility, Unicorp proposed to hold Miss Universe Vietnam 2014 in Nha Trang City. Miss Universe Vietnam is a contest to select the country's representative to the Miss Universe pageant. However, it has only been held once, in 2008.

"We have been seeking permission from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Department of Performing Arts since December last year. We plan to make this an annual contest," said an announcement from Unicorp.

Source: DTriNews