Miss Lebanon Saly Greige selfie with Miss Israel sparks outrage

Who would have expected a selfie shoot of from Miss Universe pageant arena to be the cause for wide outrage on the internet?

But that’s the way things have taken place and the ‘selfie victim’ has now come up with her point, intended to cool the temper among the Lebanese people.

Miss Lebanon Saly Greige responded to the outrage via her social networking account, saying that she was just a victim of a photobomb by her Israeli counterpart, Doron Matalon.

In her Facebook post, she explained that although with the persistent effort of Matalon to have a selfie, Greige has kept herself away from being involved in any communication or photo with the Miss Israel.

Greige says that the picture was taking while she was posing with Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia, during which Doron Matalon seized the snap by jumping in all of a sudden. Greige has also acknowledged the support for her, saying that she hopes to receive the support in the remaining days.

The internet protest from the Lebanese took shape right after Matalon posted a picture of her with Miss Lebanon, Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia, on her Instagram account on January 11^th.

With the animosity between the two nations in the background, it didn’t take quite a while for the Lebanese to air their protest against Greige for sharing the photo-shoot with a person from a rival nation. Some even demanded the stripping down of the Miss Lebanon title from Greige for her action.

The hostility between the two nations has been so intense across the borders since 2006. However, the neighbor countries have stuck to their strong stance against each other, which involves the restriction of entry a rival national and also ban on rival products.

Matalon also responded to the matter through her social media account which says “Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game, only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country”. She expressed disappointment, although saying that it doesn’t come as a surprise to her.

The organizers of Miss Universe competition have also expressed their worry. Speaking of the photo, they said it’s unfortunate to see a picture reflecting universal friendship being turned out into an outrageous thing. The event will be having its finale this Sunday, January 25^th, when the winners will be announced.

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