A social media post by a beauty queen, followed by predictable outrage, has somehow metastasized into a reputational crisis for Finland’s flag carrier.
Finnair Scrambles To Contain Backlash After Racism Controversy Erupts In Asia
Finnair is facing a growing public relations crisis after a racism controversy originating in Finland spilled over into East Asia, triggering widespread backlash in Japan, China, and South Korea. The airline has been drawn into the controversy despite not being directly involved in the original incident, as calls for boycotts and criticism flooded its Asian social media channels.
As flagged by PYOK, the controversy began when the 2025 Miss Finland winner, Sarah Dzafce, posted a photo of herself making a gesture widely viewed as “racist” toward East Asians. In the image, she pulled the corners of her eyes back in a manner commonly associated with mocking Asian facial features, accompanied by a caption referencing eating with a Chinese person. The photo quickly went viral across Asian social media platforms.
Public reaction was swift and severe. Many users in Japan, China, and South Korea condemned the image as racially insensitive and offensive. The Miss Finland organization subsequently stripped her of the title, stating that the role requires respect for people of all backgrounds. Attempts by the former titleholder to explain the image did little to calm criticism.
The situation escalated further when two right-wing Finnish politicians shared similar images online, apparently in support of the former Miss Finland. Those posts drew intense backlash abroad and criticism at home. At least one lawmaker later apologized and removed the post, while Finland’s prime minister publicly condemned the behavior, calling it unacceptable and damaging to Finland’s international standing.
Finnair became a focal point of the backlash due to its extensive operations in Asia, including flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Although the airline had no involvement in the original incident, angry comments began appearing on its Japanese- and Chinese-language social media accounts. Some users called for boycotts, while others accused the airline of being emblematic of broader cultural insensitivity. An old Finnair ad also resurfaced, which added fuel to the fire (with slanted eyes and a bamboo hat), even though it was decades old:
In response, Finnair issued statements condemning racism and emphasizing its commitment to diversity and respect:
“Recent social media posts by a former Miss Finland and some Finnish politicians have sparked discussion on our channels. These posts do not represent Finnair’s values. We firmly condemn all forms of discriminatory behaviour. We are proud to be an international airline. With a global customer base, we remain committed to treating everyone with respect.
“At the same time, an advertisement created 37 years ago in connection with the launch of our Beijing route is circulating on social media. Seen through today’s lens, we fully understand why it has raised justified criticism. It is clear to us that we would not create similar content today. Diversity and equality are a core part of Finnair’s values.
“We have also seen AI-generated fake images related to this topic, which we consider tasteless and disrespectful toward our international team representing 50 nationalities and our global customer community.”
This Is All So Absurd
I will not defend Ms. Dzafce for her slant eye joke…it was crass. She says the gesture was a reaction to a headache during dinner and said the caption was added by a friend without her consent…that sounds like an “I’m sorry if you are offended” reply when the better response is just to own it and say it was a joke in poor taste.
Dzafce was further criticized for posting the apology below in Finnish (since Chinese, Japanese, and Korean generally cannot read Finnish):
“I fully understand that my actions have caused ill will in many people and I am deeply sorry for that. I want to apologize especially to those who have been personally affected by this situation. That was not my intention in any way.”
“I know that I still have a lot to grow. One of the most important things for me is respect for people, their backgrounds and differences. What matters to me is that everyone can be themselves and be treated with dignity.”
But I see overreaction all around…the same unfortunate overreaction that fuels the rise of right wing governments in Europe and Trump in the USA.
Did she deserve to lose her title over this? I don’t think so, but that’s not what I want to focus on here. Instead, I want to focus on the ire directed at Finnair, as the flag carrier of Finland.
That ad above from almost four decades ago was a sign of the times. Think that was bad? Look at this German ad, also from 38 years ago, selling Chinese cooking seasoning:
It was a different era when “the Orient” was still more exotic and distant to the West than it is in our interconnected world today.
I think about how people came up to me on my trip to Indonesia last month and wanted my picture, just because I was a tall white guy. The same thing happened to me in Mainland China and India.
It wasn’t because they were racist, it was because I was very different.
And while I again found Dzafce’s joke in poor taste, Chinese state media are pushing disgusting propaganda concerning Americans in light of Trump’s tariff policy:
This is not “whataboutism” but a reminder that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones…
I’m not happy about Finnair’s response, either. I find it so stupid when people say, “We firmly condemn all forms of discriminatory behaviour.”
Every decision in life is discriminatory…how we spend our time, what we wear, what we eat, who we associate with, how we spend our money, etc.
Discrimination is the bedrock of time management. That word must always be distinguished. What Finnair meant was racism (I guess?), the idea that one group is superior to another. Sure, we can condemn that…but “discrimination” should not be thrown around like it is a bad word absent proper context.
I’m not impressed by the agitators who have fueled the fire of this controversy. Anyone who has been to Finland or flown Finnair knows that, on the whole, Finnish people are decent, open, and liberal in terms of accepting others different from their own. That’s not nearly as widespread in Japan or China…sorry, but I’ve traveled extensively in all three countries.
That some 22-year-old’s immature gesture is used to brand a whole country as racist is beyond absurd. Again, it plays right into the hands of right-wing politicians who will use that as a cudgel to scare and inflame people, ironically creating a problem where there wasn’t one in the first place.
CONCLUSION
This entire episode illustrates how easily outrage can detach from context and latch onto the nearest convenient symbol. In this case, that symbol became Finnair, an airline that neither created the original post nor controls the behavior of private citizens or politicians.
None of this excuses a juvenile, ill-considered gesture. But turning it into a referendum on an airline, a country, or an entire people is both lazy and counterproductive. It reduces complex societies to caricatures and creates a “moral emergency” when no such emergency exists.
When decades-old advertisements, unrelated corporations, and entire nations are dragged into controversies they did not create, the result is not progress or understanding. It is noise. And that noise increasingly serves those who benefit most from polarization.
image: @sarahdzafce / Instagram
Ironically,Finns are often targeted with crude jokes about their Asian slit eyes and features ,some have.Little known today,a century ago a court hearing was held in Duluth whether to send the many newly arrived Finnish immigrants back,as many believed they were not European but should be treated as asians by us immigration.They were nicknamed something like ” china swedes”.DNA wise,Finns,Russians-Ukrainians,and Hungarians have the most Asian genes among Europeans.
I’ve been to Finland; I didn’t see much Asian influence or appearance in the people there, but that’s just me, and honestly, that’s not even the issue here. They messed up, shouldn’t have ‘gone there,’ and should be walking it back. Matt’s example of the Chinese state media mocking Americans wasn’t great either. Ask John Cena what he had to do when he offended them…
I got burned by Finnair once, real bad, and I’m unable to ‘let it go.’ For those who are able to find a ‘deal,’ please do beware that you might get stuck… in HEL.
Expecting Finnair to apologize or issue a statement is racist.
How is this any different than a (insert ethnicity or nationality) person doing something bad/scandalous and everyone else on the planet with the same ethnicity or nationality is expected to account for it?
The overreaction is connecting an airline w/ the actions of private citizens and even government officials. It is precisely because AY is one of the few majority state-owned airlines in Europe that they are being held to a different standard.
Miss whoever deserves to be stripped of her title regardless of the state-owned (or not) status.