Why Indian beauty queen Harnaaz Sandhu was body shamed as Miss Universe

Miss Universe pageants always seem so glamorous, joyous, and innocent, but behind the screens, there can be pain and drama. Take for example the case of Harnaaz Sandhu, the winner of 2021 who passed the crown onto the current Miss Universe, R'Bonney Gabriel.

Out of more than 80 contestants she was chosen as the new Miss Universe in December 2021. It was a glorious moment and Harnaaz looked radiant.

Back home in India, emotions ran high. The nation was proud of its new beauty queen, and her parents reached a certain level of fame as well. Here we see Pritpal Singh Sandhu and Rabinder Kaur Sandhu posing in their home in Kharar with an image of their crowned daughter.

Artists drew pictures of their Miss Universe. India has won the competition three times in its history. The last time was in 2000: Lara Dutta. It was the same year in which now-famous actress Priyanka Chopra won the title of another important beauty pageant, Miss World.

During her reign as Miss Universe, Harnaaz traveled to her home country to be honored by several organizations, both local and national.

She also gave speeches around the world, took part in fashion shows, and settled in a New York apartment, as Miss Universe winners always do.

A few months into her term as Miss Universe, her followers on social media began to notice something was different. In August, she confirmed it in her own words to People magazine: "Physically I have kind of grown, got more pounds and increased my weight."

Talking to People, she looked back at the time after the pageant. "Just after winning, I had almost a month just to relax. During that time, I actually didn't work out, and I was just eating and just enjoying that time with my family. I never realized that it would start showing on my body."

While Harnaaz said she was "totally comfortable" about her weight gain, followers on social media were quick to comment on her appearance. During her 'homecoming' in India, in March 2022, "she was bombarded with comments circling around her weight gain since the crowning," Elle India reported.

Below her social media posts, people would body shame the reigning beauty queen. They posted emojis of pigs, joked that she must be pregnant, or said that she surely must love food. "Get it together y'all," Elle India commented on the hateful trolls.

Harnaaz herself revealed to People magazine that she had celiac disease and that she was found to be allergic to several types of food. Her changed appearance was in large part the result of health issues, she indicated.

While trolls on the internet called Harnaaz 'fat' and bullied her for her looks, she cried a lot. "I definitely broke down so many times," she confessed to People. "Sometimes in the most unexpected times. I'm just about to go on stage or something and this whole thing comes in my mind. It's really sad."

Luckily, the Miss Universe organization supported Harnaaz Sandhu all the way. The pageant, which recently expanded its guidelines for competitors to promote a more inclusive picture of the beauty of women, received the reigning Miss Universe with open arms and gave her all the respect and support.

It hasn't always been that way. After the Venezuelan Alicia Machado became Miss Universe in 1996, the competition's owner Donald Trump wouldn't stop bullying her about her weight. He called her 'Miss Piggy' and told her to lose weight.

As she later told The New York Times, Machado developed an eating disorder in the aftermath of her term as Miss Universe.

Shame about one's body and self-worth can lead to disastrous consequences. Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst, threw herself off a building in 2022. The suspected reason for her crisis - according to information gathered by Insider - was that she felt inadequate after reaching the age of 30.

In an essay for 'Allure,' Cheslie had written a few months earlier: "Each time I say 'I'm turning 30,' I cringe a little. Society has never been kind to those growing old, especially women... Turning 30 feels like a cold reminder that I'm running out of time to matter in society's eyes - and it's infuriating."

For Miss Universe 2021, Harnaaz Sandhu, the year as global beauty queen taught her a good lesson. "I've gone through that phase of my life where I used to feel bad about everything," she tells People magazine. "Now, I started loving everything. It's okay to cry. It's okay to feel sad."

At the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, she explained that the contest was about a person's inside, not their appearance: "For me, Miss Universe was never about looking beautiful and wearing glitz and glam. For me, it's a platform where you can talk about things you want to do."

The former Miss Universe now hopes that her story will inspire others who struggle with low self-esteem and body shaming. "We all are imperfect," she told People magazine. "We need to realize that there's a point where we understand that we need to embrace our flaws."

Once you can embrace your flaws, she says, "you can conquer anything in this world." With these words, Harnaaz hopes she can truly be a role model for all women.