NO MISS T&T: Yvonne reinstated but not on contestants list

Yvonne “Yvee” Clarke was yesterday reinstated by the local franchise holder as the Miss TT 2017 Queen.

However, Clarke’s participation in the Miss Universe pageant on November 26 in Las Vegas, appears to be in doubt as up to yesterday, she was not on the formal list of contestants for this year’s competition, in the Miss Universe Pageant official website. On Tuesday, it was announced that Clarke was stripped of her crown and thus disqualified from representing this country at the Miss Universe after local franchise holder Jennifer Douglas ruled that Clarke had violated terms of her contract by making unauthorised statements to the media and on social media.

However, a release from the franchise committee yesterday stated it had settled all matters with 28-year-old Clarke. “The franchise has decided to reinstate her as our country’s 2017 Miss Trinidad & Tobago representative. We truly wish Miss Clarke all the best in her journey and we do hope and pray she is able to bring home the crown. We also wish to thank the public at large and the media for their support in this matter,” the release said.

However, rumours swirled that TT had been disqualified from the competition especially after a screen shot of an image purporting to be taken from the Miss Universe Pageant’s official Facebook page, showed TT among seven countries that were withdrawn from this year’s competition.When Newsday checked on the Miss Universe official website’s ‘list of contestants’ link, Clarke’s name, image and stats were nowhere to be found. When Newsday contacted Douglas to ask whether or not TT had been disqualified, she said she could not comment and terminated the call. Efforts to reach Clarke for a comment, proved futile.

Soca star Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez, who has been assisting Clarke after it was discovered the beauty queen had gotten no help to prepare her for the competition, yesterday said she was tired of all that have been taking place. Lyons-Alvarez told Newsday, via What’s App, that she was glad Clarke was reinstated and hopes she can still do her best after this draining experience.

Later in a telephone conversation, when asked if Clarke’s reinstatement voids TT’s apparent disqualification from the international pageant, Lyons-Alvarez said franchise holder Douglas needs to send a letter to the international body to state TT is still in the competition. Asked if she would still assist Clarke prepare for the competition, Alvarez-Lyons said she is doing what she can.

She said news of Clarke’s reinstatement came late and she (Alvarez-Lyons) now has to recall the team she pulled together in the first place to assist Clarke. “We have to call everybody and see who is still interested,” she said. Clarke is expected to leave Trinidad on November 11 for Las Vegas.

Community Development, Culture and the Arts Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly yesterday told Newsday she heard of Clarke’s reinstatement but not the country’s apparent disqualification. “This is a private franchise and therefore Government has no direct involvement. If in fact we have been disqualified, as a TT national I would be disappointed, because I also looked forward to our representation competing at that level. If we are not in fact disqualified, and whoever the legitimate candidate is, I would of course wish her the very best,” Gadsby-Dolly said. Telephone calls to the international Miss Universe organisation yesterday went unanswered.