Beauty Queen To Face 2-year Term Jail Over 'Disrespectful' Taj Mahal Photoshoot
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials have filed a police complaint against the reigning Miss Universe Olivia Culpo for conducting an unauthorized footwear fashion shoot at the Taj Mahal.
The 21-year-old American beauty queen visited Agra's "monument to love" on her 10-day tour in India. Authorities said if found guilty, she and her team can be jailed for up to two years and fined 100,000 rupees ($1,600).
Culpo visited Taj Mahal on Oct. 6 and modelled pairs of shoes at the marble ledge known as Diana Ledge without permission from ASI and apparently the sandals from a bag she carried were taken and placed on the Diana Seat, which was regarded as an act of disrespect and insult, according to Hindustan Times as told by Taj Caretaker Munazzar Ali.
"There are strict guidelines against any sort of branding and promotion at Taj Mahal and the photoshoot was without any prior permission," N.K. Pathak from the Agra unit of ASI said.
Miss Universe Organization apologized for the incident and released a statement to The Huffington Post explaining that titleholders make videos with promotional tie-ins. "As part of these videos, we sometimes incorporate sponsors into these shoots," the statement read. "The filming that took place outside the Taj Mahal was never intended to be used as a commercial nor was it meant in any way to be disrespectful."
Culpo explained in the Providence Journal that she was having issues with the shoot to begin with.
"I mean, I'm an employee of the Miss Universe organization and following directions given to me," she explained.
"I guess their vision was, 'What's better to identify India than the Taj Mahal?' But unfortunately it's something that was highly offensive. Honestly, I did say out loud at one point, 'Isn't this a little inappropriate?'"
"It's upsetting to me that I was a part of that," she added. "It's really upsetting because I loved my visit to India, and I would love nothing more than to go back, even in the near future."