HELSINKI, Finland: A Miss Finland pageant winner participating in the Miss Universe contest was stripped of her crown after she released pictures of her pulling the corners of her eyes in a photo that allegedly made fun of people from certain Asian countries.

Finland's government is facing heavy pressure and accusations of racism from several Asian countries after the photo of Sarah Dzafce, the country‘s representative at the Miss Universe pageant, went public. Some Finnish politicians posted their own images repeating the gesture.

Dzafce's photo and its caption reading "eating with a Chinese," went viral late last month, and was criticized by governments and commentators across Finland and Asia.

Dzafce, who won Miss Finland in September, told Finnish media that she was trying to alleviate a headache. The Helsinki Times reported that she said a friend had shared the private image and written the caption without her input. Dzafce did not respond to The Associated Press's request for comment on December 19.

She, however, posted an apology on social media on December 8 and stated she had no intention of hurting anyone.

"The Miss Finland title is not just a crown for me, but also a responsibility. A responsibility for how I speak, how I act, and how my actions can affect people," she wrote in Finnish.

"I take responsibility for my actions and will learn from this."

Days later, the Miss Finland Organization revoked her status as Miss Finland 2025 — known as Miss Suomi in Finnish.

"The events of recent days have caused deep hurt, disappointment, and concern both in Finland and internationally — fully understandable," the organization wrote on social media. "We are deeply sorry for the harm these events have caused. Especially to the Asian community, but also to everyone affected. Racism is never acceptable in any form."

However, adding fuel to the fire, several far-right Finnish politicians supported Dzafce after she was stripped of her crown. Members of the ruling coalition in parliament posted photos showing them pulling the skin around their eyes.

As the outrage spread throughout Asia, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo issued apologies to several countries, including Japan and South Korea, via social media.

"These posts do not reflect Finland's values of equality and inclusion. Racism and discrimination have no place in Finnish society," Orpo's statement said.

The Japanese government reached out to the Finnish embassy in Tokyo to express its concerns.