About The Model Search Controversy

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter can keep you connected with loved ones across the globe, help you contact public figures you admire and provide an outlet for you to speak your mind. However, social media can also make it easier for people to spread ignorance and negativity.

Kurama Magazine just completed our Model Search. What started off as a fun contest to celebrate our 2nd anniversary became negative because of the complaints of a disgruntled contestant and his followers. We set out to make the rules for the competition comprehensible in the press release and we apologise if these weren't clear for everybody. Nonetheless, we will not apologise for the judges' decision which was within the guidelines of the contest.

If you were confused or upset about the results because you didn't understand the rules, emailing us your questions would be appropriate. However, starting a smear campaign out of anger or making hateful accusations on Facebook instead of approaching us in a professional manner is inappropriate.

We didn't just see the Model Search as a way to celebrate our second year with our fans but also as a method for discovering new talent. We were considering some of the models as potential participants in future photo shoots and projects. However, if an aspiring model is unprofessional, this could hurt his/her chances for working with us and possibly other organizations.

Anyway, the biggest lesson from this incident would be to not enter any competition without reading and understanding all of the rules and requirements.

To clarify, here are the stipulations that were in question:

The participants' pictures would be on display on Kurama Magazine's Facebook Fan Page where fans could vote by 'Liking' their favourite model. Then, the anonymous judges would pick the male and female winners from the finalists (in other words, the judges would choose the winners from the three men and three women with the most votes).

Feel free to email us.