Miss Lebanon Saly Greige is distancing herself from a photo of her and Miss Israel Doron Matalon that's causing an online uproar.
The picture appeared on Matalon's Instagram feed on January 11. It shows Matalon smiling with Greige, Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan in Miami, where the Miss Universe pageant will take place on Sunday.
"Good morning from us!" reads the caption.
The image ignited a wide-ranging debate in the comments of the picture about the ongoing conflict between Israel and much of the Arab world. Officially, Israel and Lebanon are still at war, even though there have been no large-scale hostilities on the border since 2006. Travel between them by citizens of the two countries is prohibited.
The Miss Universe Organization defended the picture, saying it was "unfortunate" that the picture has been perceived in a negative light.
"At an event with one of our charitable partners, Miss Universe Lebanon and Miss Universe Israel innocently ended up in an impromptu photo together, which was then posted on Instagram," the organization said in a statement to CNN.
"It is unfortunate to know a photo of four smiling women from different parts of the world, working together at an event, could be misconstrued as anything other than what it is, a celebration of universal friendship, which the Miss Universe pageant is all about."
Greige addressed the controversy on Saturday on social media, sharing what she called "the truth behind the photo." She also posted the same photo on her Instagram account with Miss Israel cropped out.
From the start of pageant preparations, Greige said, she was "very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel."
As she explains it, she was posing for a photo with Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia when "suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie, and put it on her social media," she said.
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