Fifi Coleman Leaks Dark Truths in Ghana’s Beauty Pageants

Filmmaker and director Fifi Coleman has exposed problems in Ghanaian beauty pageants, drawing from his experience as a judge on several reality shows and competitions in the country.

Speaking on Joy FM on February 28, 2026, Coleman said vote manipulation is actually the least of the issues in the pageant world.

“It is funny when people talk about vote manipulation, because that is the least of the issues,” he said.

Coleman revealed that judges often select contestants during auditions, but organisers sometimes exclude these names from the final list.

“I have sat in auditions where you are clearly asked to make a choice. Let’s say you bring me in as a judge and I select Person A. We all agree on a list.

They take that list to go and make the announcement, and suddenly the person we selected is not even on it. Not that their name was mentioned and dropped. It is simply not there,” he explained.

He also highlighted situations where contestants are asked to buy items that are supposedly unavailable in Ghana. In one case, participants were told a specific shoe required for a segment could only be sourced from London, where the organiser lives, and they had to pay for it to be brought in.

“They will define a specific shoe for a segment and say the shoe is in London because the owner of the pageant is in London. Then they tell the contestant to pay a certain amount of money in Ghana to someone, and when the organiser returns, they will bring the shoe in that size,” he said.

Coleman added that some contestants are tasked with going out to “engage” people and raise money, giving an advantage to those who generate the most funds.

“Why do we send contestants to car washes, claiming they are raising money? After they raise the money, where does it go? Why do we send them to casinos to engage people? And the one who is able to engage people and bring in the most money is almost guaranteed a top three spot. You can see where this is going,” he explained.

He concluded by rejecting any pageant or reality show that ties victory to paid votes.

“It is not just about voting. If the voting is free and only for fun, I like it. Let’s do it that way,” Coleman said.