MISS World Netherlands has quit the modelling contest because she refused to have a covid jab required to travel to the final in Puerto Rico.
Dilay Willemstein, 21, made the bombshell announcement via Instagram, saying she is “not yet ready” to get the shot.
The model and dancer, from Eindhoven, will now be replaced by Lizzie Dobbe, who came second place in the Netherlands’ national contest in July.
Miss Willemstein said: “After I was crowned [Miss Netherlands], I was told that if you want to go to Miss World you must be vaccinated.”
Previously, she said that winning the pageant was her lifelong dream.
But she opened up on why she decided to miss her chance.
She said: “I thought about it carefully and considered taking the jab, but at a certain point, I thought I’m not ready for this at all. I don’t feel good about it.
“I did not make the decision overnight. I still had a few months to think about it so I kept putting it off.”
Miss Willemstein explained that the organisers eventually told her that she had to get an appointment to be vaccinated.
But she says she simply could not bring herself to do it.
Yet, she does not have any regrets saying: “This was my choice and I stand by it.”
