Finland's delegate to last month's Miss Universe pageant held in Thailand has sparked a racism firestorm over a viral photo that showed her pulling the corners of her eyes.

Sarah Dzafce, who has been stripped of her Miss Finland crown, uploaded the photo with the caption "eating with a Chinese". The slanted-eyes pose is often seen as disrespectful to East Asians.

The post drew backlash in Japan, South Korea and China against the 22-year-old and even against her country's flag carrier, Finnair.

Back home in Finland, the prime minister said on Monday making such gestures was "thoughtless and stupid" and that the controversy that ensued was "damaging" to the country.

MsDzafce claimed the gesture was her reaction to a headache during dinner. She said a friend added the offensive caption to the 11 December post without her consent, according to local tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.

MsDzafce has apologised for the photo, noting it has "caused ill will in many people".

"That was not my intention in any way... One of the most important things for me is respect for people, their backgrounds and differences," she wrote on an Instagram post.

The apology still drew criticism, with some calling it "insincere" given it was written in Finnish.

"Not sure Chinese outside of Finland would understand it. Such considerate and sincere apology," one wrote in a comment on her post.

Another wrote: "That was uncalled for, Asian people didn't do anything to you... We [are] still disappointed in you."

Two right-wing MPs in Finland, Juho Eerola and KaisaGaredew, posted photos of themselves mimicking MsDzafce's gesture to show their support for the beauty queen.

The posts were taken down after backlash. Eerolaapologised adding he felt MsDzafce was given "disproportionately harsh punishment".

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned the MPs' actions as "childish", adding that lawmakers should set an example of proper conduct.

The Finns Party is deliberating whether the MPs should face any sanctions for their actions, local media reported.

Source - BBC