Miss Lebanon 2012- Battle Of The Twins

I get it, nothing creates a buzz like two twins competing for the same title, Miss Lebanon 2012. And it worked, the Chibani twins have dominated headlines since being crowned last night. Rina Chibani is now Miss Lebanon 2012 and her twin sister Romi is first runner-up.

It’s been awhile since we’ve had some pretty faces compete for this pageant particularly after the puzzling win of Yara Khoury Mikhael last year which left everyone scratching their heads and hurt the credibility of the pageant itself.

Things were looking up this year, and the competition seemed to be tight, but not only between the twin sisters. What about the stunning Krystel Loutfi (below) or the eloquent and soft spoken Joanne Semaan that girl absolutely aced the Q&As! That didn’t seem to matter. Nor did the fact that winner Rina Chibany gave beauty a priority over education when asked, stating instead that “beauty is the key to everything in life.” All that mattered in fact was how wild the audience went when winner Rina Chibani announced to a jury member that she would pick “her sister” Romi if it were up to her. Of course she would say that, how did that make her so genius?

But how awkward must it have been for two sisters to compete in the same pageant, I’m sure it can’t be good for runner-up Romi, who was told all her life that she was just as pretty as her twin, only to find out on national television that her sister is the prettier one. Something tells me that relationship can’t be healthy.

And let me tell you this, it doesn’t make sense to choose two almost identical twin sisters, it’s not a fair representation, it’s like voting twice for the same perquisites one would look for in a beauty queen. But, if a twin sister had to win, it should have been Romi not Rina, did anyone dismiss the answer she gave on the smoking ban? That girl obviously proved that she was well-rounded on local issues and even went as far as proposing an amendment to the law that may take into consideration restaurant and bar owners.

What about the jury panel? How bewildering was that random mix of personalities? From superstar Ragheb Alameh’s botched wife, to Nancy Ajram to ex-Minister of Interior Ziad Baroud and mountaineer Maxim Chaya? Can someone explain to me how those people are qualified to judge beauty pageants? Anyone?

I’ll tell you this, that show was entertaining, and it obviously served its purpose, #MissLebanon was even trending worldwide on Twitter last night. But the fact of the matter is Lebanon has not had a Georgina Rizk in a long time, and it doesn’t seem like it will anytime soon.