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Miss Italy Vote Shows True Colors Pageant Bounced Judges Who Said A Black Woman Couldn’t Represent Italian Beauty

Associated Press

An 18-year-old black woman was named Miss Italy on Saturday, after two judges at the pageant were dismissed for saying her skin color doesn’t reflect true Italian beauty.

Denny Mendez garnered the most votes from a dozen judges and 9 million television viewers who gave their opinions over the phone.

The tall, long-haired native of the Dominican Republic wept as her victory was announced, and fellow contestants grabbed her for hugs.

Earlier, two judges were dismissed after voicing their views on race and Italian beauty. One of them - television personality Alba Parietti - was reinstated after saying her comments were misconstrued. Parietti placed the crown on Mendez’s head Saturday night.

Earlier in the day, Parietti said: “A colored girl cannot represent Italy as Miss Italy.”

Her words echoed those of another judge, who was kicked off the panel earlier in the week for saying Mendez shouldn’t be in the contest.

“I would like (the winner) … to be the mirror of this eternal Italy and not the copy of another country, another culture,” fashion photographer Bob Kreiger said.

Mendez moved from Santo Domingo to Florence four years ago.

Pageant director Enzo Mirigliani said Mendez was an Italian citizen and was entitled to compete.

The contest controversy opened a national debate on how the long-homogenous society is changing as a result of immigration from Asia and Africa.

“One need only look around to see that our society has become ethnically composite, and so a black-skinned beauty can also be representative of Italy,” said a front-page newspaper column.

One black athlete, long-jumper Fiona May, won a silver medal for Italy at the Olympics in Atlanta.

“Everybody considers her (May) very Italian, and many Italians rejoiced when she won the silver medal - and they certainly did not look at what color she was,” said Yuri Chechi, an Italian gymnast and Olympics gold medalist who presided over the Miss Italy judging panel.