If you think teens posing for funeral selfies are bad, just wait until you see the shocking, controversial selfie below.
As you can tell, the selfie isn’t shocking at all — But it’s causing a political firestorm for some. Miss Lebanon, Saly Greige, is being criticized for being caught in a photo with Miss Israel, Doron Matalon, along with two other women, taken recently at the Miss Universe pageant.
After Matalon posted the seemingly harmless snapshot on her Instagram profile, Lebanese television station Al Jadeed quipped that, since one of her hobbies is reading, she should have read that Lebanon and Israel are enemies.
Greige explained the situation on her Facebook page, saying she had been trying to avoid communicating with and taking a photo with Miss Israel since arriving at the competition, but while she “was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia and myself; suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie, and put it on her social media.” Greige said she hoped she would still have the support of the Lebanese people.
According to NBC News, Matalon was less apologetic. She posted an article about the photo on Facebook and Instagram Sunday, saying the situation “doesn’t surprise me but it still makes me sad.” Matalon said she wished “hostility” could be forgotten for the three-week duration of the competition so that “we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country.” Miss Israel served two years in the Israeli Defense Forces, according to her profile on the Miss Universe website.
In short, when this “shocking” selfie causes as much as or more reaction and controversy than distracted driving selfies and other inappropriate selfies, it’s another reminder that humanity still has a long, long way to go in our evolution.
The pageant will be televised Sunday, Jan. 25, on NBC at 7 p.m. CST.