Luxury fashion house Dior has abruptly removed all traces of Miss Grand International 2021 Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien from its latest communications campaign, as controversy surrounding her involvement in the Kera candy scandal intensifies.

As of April 7, Dior’s official Facebook fanpage - boasting over 19 million followers - had deleted Thuy Tien’s presence from a post originally published in early March. The edit history indicates that the update was made at approximately 3:42 p.m. on April 7.

Previously, on March 5, Thuy Tien had been featured alongside global celebrities and was officially tagged in Dior’s post. She was introduced as a "Friend of the House" and appeared in a place of honor at the Dior show during Paris Fashion Week on March 4.

The luxury brand’s decision to erase her image has quickly sparked heated discussion across social media platforms, as Thuy Tien remains embroiled in a high-profile scandal involving misleading advertising of Kera vegetable candy.

On April 6, Colonel Tran Quoc Cuong, Chief of the Case Review Division under the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Office, confirmed on national television (VTV1’s Vietnam Today) that Thuy Tien is “involved” in the ongoing Kera case. Authorities have pledged to continue the investigation.

Two days prior, Vietnamese officials imposed a two-month exit ban on Thuy Tien to facilitate further investigation. Around the same time, the National Competition Commission under the Ministry of Industry and Trade fined her 25 million VND (approx. 990 USD) for failing to disclose her sponsorship when promoting Kera candy on social media.

Adding to the fallout, on the evening of April 6, Thuy Tien’s official Facebook and TikTok accounts abruptly vanished. Users attempting to access her fanpage received a message indicating the content was unavailable, and thousands of posts on her Instagram account were suddenly hidden.

Dior’s move, though not officially explained, comes as the scandal shows no signs of abating - and highlights the increasingly high stakes for public figures involved in questionable online endorsements.

Minh Nghia