Jane Kanas was a little nervous approaching the immigration desk.
She had heard the rumours, but she wasn't sure if they were true.
As she handed over her Vanuatu passport to the officer at the airport, it soon became apparent.
"My name was on a handwritten piece of paper," she told the ABC.
"I wasn't allowed to leave."
Her alleged crime?
"They didn't say … I'm just a judge."
Ms Kanas was part of the Miss Pacific Islands beauty pageant held last weekend.
The event, this year hosted by Solomon Islands, is the region's premier competition, with eight young women from across the region competing for the coveted Miss Pacific Islands crown.
And in the Pacific, it's a big deal.
Hundreds of thousands of people watch the competition on live streams, with passionate debate online.
But this year, a large portion of that passion turned toxic, with unsubstantiated accusations of vote rigging combining with a vicious campaign of online trolling.
The trolling got so bad this week that Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape threatened to ban Facebook and TikTok completely if it continued.
For Ms Kanas, and her Samoan counterpart and head judge Jerry Brunt, the vote-rigging accusations became so serious that they were turned back at the airport and kept in Solomon Islands to answer questions by police over allegations of fraud.
"I can confidently say there was no rigging whatsoever," Ms Kana said.
"The judging procedure was very transparent."
'Justice will prevail'
It all started when a grainy video of last Saturday night's pageant started circulating on online forums.
It proclaimed to show the judges arguing about the result and head judge Mr Brunt ripping up a piece of paper. However, the footage is inconclusive at best.
But some social media users declared the video showed the result was rigged.
"It is disappointing that so much [credibility] was given to that video," Ms Kanas said.
"I was right there. Nothing happened. There was no tampering of the results."
After the video spread and online chatter grew louder, the Solomon Islands government, which was a major sponsor of the event, sprang into action.
In a Facebook post on his personal account seen by the ABC, a senior Solomon Islands government minister proclaimed: "Justice will prevail … I'll make sure of that."
The Solomon Islands government then put a "stop order" against the judges — effectively banning them from leaving the country — so it could carry out "investigations of alleged fraudulent activities during the crowing of the Miss Pacific".
After copping a public "please explain" from the Samoan government this week about why one of its citizens couldn't come home, the stop order was later rescinded.
Both Mr Brunt and Ms Kanas are now back in Samoa and Vanuatu, and Mr Brunt has indicated he is exploring legal action for unlawful detention.
Solomon Islands police say "the investigations are continuing".
"Formal charges will be made upon determination of the facts presented through the investigations," the statement said.
'Deep and troubling injustice'
The competition itself is promoted as a celebration of Pacific culture and togetherness.
Established by the Samoan government in 1987, contestants compete in a range of areas with a Pacific flavour.
For example, a sarong section takes the place of the Western-style swimsuit category and there's a traditional wear category instead of evening gowns.
For many, Miss Pacific Islands 2024 Moemoana Schwenke is the embodiment of the competition and its meaning.
An extremely popular online influencer and advocate of Pacific culture, Ms Schwenke has spent the past year touring the region, promoting the title and the Pacific way of life.
However, for Ms Schwenke, this week's drama has unveiled a "deep and troubling injustice".
In a Facebook post published on Friday and shared widely, Ms Schwenke said the aftermath of the week had left "deep scars" on the integrity of the competition, and what it was supposed to stand for.
"There are so many matters that have been swept under the rug, voices that have been silenced, social media slander and a lack of duty of care from [organisers] the Miss Pacific Islands executive committee," she said.
"Some of our Pacific women in the pageant have faced terrible racial discrimination, bullying and lies fed by social media users, all of which have been ignored or brushed aside.
"This is not the unity, love and compassion that our islands are known for."
But she also said there were "questions that need answers" over the judging, and she called on the Miss Pacific Islands executive committee to come clean.
"I have come to learn that there are matters about the judging methods that have not been brought to light," she said.
"All the tireless work and effort put in by our contestants, their families and supporters has been overshadowed by the negligence of a few.
"[And] the real damage is to the spirit of our Pacific women."
Distorted messages
Despite the week of drama, it seems the competitors themselves are rising above the online controversies.
Miss Tonga Rachael Guttenbeil was declared the runner-up on the night. She told the ABC's Pacific Beat program she wouldn't accept the crown, even if the investigation found there had been voting irregularities.
"I don't want to comment on that (the online accusations of vote rigging)," she said.
"Whatever the result, I'm so proud of what I achieved.
"My sister Miss Samoa did so well and so did all the other sisters, [and] it shouldn't be tarnished by what's going around us."
Speaking on Friday, the new Miss Pacific Islands, Ms Samoa Litara Ieremia-Allan, said the controversy "didn't take away from the joy" of being crowned.
And when asked about what she would say to young women who were contemplating competing for Miss Pacific Islands and were seeing the online hate, she had a simple message.
"On the outside, it's seen as a beauty pageant, but the real goal is about leadership, it's a platform to find our future leaders for the Pacific," she said.
"It's to find future voices and the voices for now.
"Sometimes the message can get distorted."
