Miss UK Hands Back Her Crown After Claiming Pageant Organizers Told Her to Lose Weight

Miss United Kingdom has decided to hand back her title and withdraw from an international beauty pageant after she claims she was told to lose weight by competition organizers.

Zoiey Smale was set to compete in the Miss United Continents pageant in Ecuador later this month when the national director told her to "lose weight and go on a diet plan".

"She said to me, 'They want you to go on a diet plan and they want you to lose as much weight as possible for the finals.' I was like, 'pardon?'" she told the Daily Mail. "It was one of those things, in the 21st century you don't actually expect people to be that blunt."

The 28-year-old wrote on Facebook that she'd been in the industry for 10 years and was "saddened" by the fact that "even still, there are pageant directors who believe you must be skinny to be beautiful."

"Some of you may think this is cowardly, however I don't think it is the right to have my face representing a pageant ethos I do not believe in," she continued. "I will be handing back my crown and wish the new title holder the very best of luck."

The beauty queen stood up for herself, defending her body from pageant organizers.

"I love me and will not change for anyone," she wrote. "My body has carried me through my 20+ years of being on this earth, allowed me to have a career I am very proud of, carry a child and the best thing of all, my body has never given up on me."

In a later Facebook post, Smale thanked supporters of her decision, saying their support means "more than any title could bring."

"When I made the decision to hand over my crown, I never thought I would have the backing of thousands of people," she wrote. "I woke up to so many of you contacting me with your stories and kind words of support."

"If a pageant doesn't want to utilise my capabilities because I am a size 10 [U.S. size 6] then it's their loss."