D’oh! Czech nuclear plant apologizes for bikini contest to choose intern (PHOTOS)

A nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic has issued an apology after holding a bikini beauty contest, the winner of which would be rewarded with the supposedly prestigious prize of a two-week internship at the plant.

Revealing images of the intern candidates were originally shared on Facebook, but the plant has since removed the photos following the backlash. 

In the images, the intern hopefuls posed inside the plant’s cooling tower, which thankfully had been closed for maintenance, and Facebook users were asked to rate who they thought should be the winner. 

Ten recent school graduates made up the contestants, the most popular of which was promised the job at power generation conglomerate CEZ’s Temelin nuclear power plant in the country’s South Bohemian region. 

The company compared the competition to its previous cultural endeavours, such as hosting the Bohemian Philharmonic orchestra at the plant. In a press release, cited by DW, CEZ claimed that the young women greatly enjoyed the experience and were required to wear hard hats and enclosed shoes at all times. 

Not everyone was impressed with the conglomerate’s stunt, however. 

"The competition is absolutely outside the bounds of ethics. In 2017, I find it incredible that someone could gain a professional advantage for their good looks," human rights lawyer and equal opportunity advisor Petra Havlíková told Czech media outfit aktualne.cz.

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Reacting to the criticism, CEZ apologised via Facebook and announced that all the competitors would be granted internships at the plant.

“The purpose of the competition was to promote technical education. But if the original vision raised doubts or concerns, we are very sorry,” the company said.