Woman Rejected From Judging Beauty Pageant For Wiccan Beliefs
Posted January 28, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
She was crowned Miss Canada Plus in 2007, and was set to judge the Miss Toronto Tourism pageant in February, but organizers dropped 23-year-old Stephanie Conover from the panel after they discovered her interest in witchcraft.
The former beauty queen was stunned when she received a letter from the organizers, telling her that she wasn’t welcome at the event because she dabbled in Tarot Card reading and Reiki.
“They wrote this letter…basically revoking my invite and chastising me for my belief systems,” Conover said.
“I was hurt but at the same time I was completely flabbergasted.”
The letter reads: “Tarot card reading and Reiki are the occult and is not acceptable by God, Jews, Muslims or Christians.”
“It seems very medieval, the language they have used and the way they tried to burn me at the stake,” she adds.
“It’s discrimination against me because of my hobbies.”
Miss Toronto Tourism, which isn’t affiliated with the city’s tourism office, stands by the decision. “We (accept) all religions, all nationalities, but we would reject them if they were into witchcraft,” reaffirms pageant spokesperson Karen Murray.
The pageant is scheduled to take place Feb 2nd.
Conover says if officials had a change of heart she’d still step in and judge.
