Several Vietnamese artists who performed at the finales of the “Miss Vietnam International 2014” beauty pageant in Japan have accused the organizers of “mistreating” them, with the accused passing the buck to each other. The final nights of “Miss Vietnam International 2014,” which aimed to seek and honor Vietnamese beauties worldwide, took place last Saturday and Sunday at the Kobe Culture Center and Tokyo’s Kamakura Performing Arts Center, respectively.

The pageant’s two organizers were U.S.-based Viet Show Entertainment and Motiti in Japan, according to Viet Show’s clarification document issued on Tuesday.  

A video clip featuring Viet Huong – a seasoned Vietnamese comedienne – and several other artists sobbing and complaining onstage about how they were treated during their trip to the East Asian country was released online a few days ago.

Photos showing the artists resting at a massage parlor in Japan were also seen on the Internet.

Huong lamented that she and her Vietnamese team were not picked up at the airport by any representatives from the organizers when they arrived in Japan, and had to take a bus to their first performing venue in Kobe.

Following the performance, hotel rooms were not arranged for them and they were not taken out for meals, leaving them no choice but to roam the city for almost an hour and finally spend the night at a massage parlor on Saturday.

The comedienne added that several Vietnamese artists dropped out of the pageant’s second finale the following day in Tokyo, as the organizers would not pay the artists, as previously agreed.

Huong exclaimed that it was the first time in her 21-year career that she had been mistreated this way.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Viet Show claimed that Huong had “inflated” the story and that the photos portraying the artists sleeping at the massage parlor were clumsy Photoshop work, intended to taint the company’s reputation.

A company representative also shifted all the accountability regarding Huong’s accusations to its Japanese partner, Motiti.

Viet Show pointed out that according to the contract between the two parties, it was Motiti’s responsibility to take care of the Vietnamese artists’ accommodation and transport during their stay in Japan.

Thien Quang – Viet Show’s director – claimed at the press conference that Tong Kim Giao – Motiti’s director – had masterminded Huong’s allegations in an attempt to help Giao’s favorite candidate win.

Bich Lien, head of the pageant’s jury, said that as soon as Giao arrived in Japan, she directly mentioned result-fixing to her.

In turn, Motiti retorted, telling Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday afternoon that they did fulfill all the agreed terms, including arranging accommodation and transport for a number of designers and contestants.

Viet Show purposefully kept them in the dark about information on the Vietnamese artists, including their flight number and time of arrival in Japan, and did not notify them of any changes to the plans, Motiti noted.

They added that after the first finale in Kobe, they offered to arrange transport and accommodation for the artists but Viet Show’s director said he could handle the issue himself.

Motiti said that they “lost all contact with the Vietnamese artists” until the second finale in Tokyo on Sunday.

As a result of the hassle, the Viet Show representative announced the cancellation of the “Miss Vietnam International 2014 Gala,” slated to take place in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. The Performing Arts Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism had sent an urgent document to the Ho Chi Minh City culture department last Wednesday.

In the document, the department pointed to Viet Show’s failure to seek a permit for its scheduled gala in Vietnam.

The department then instructed the city’s culture department not to grant the permit to the company and impose a penalty on them.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!