#miss-universe

#miss-universe

Every step Fatima Bosch has taken toward the Miss Universe crown has been accompanied by controversy. But the tangle of scandals, misunderstandings, and accusations has grown rapidly, escalating from kitsch to organized crime. At the center of the spotlight is the pageant's president, Raul Rocha. In less than a week since the winner was announced, the Mexican businessman has faced a barrage of criticism for favoritism and admitted to having a multi-million dollar contract with the oil giant Pemex, where Bosch's father is an executive.

On Nov. 4, Bosch left a live-streamed event in the early stages of the competition after a top Thai Miss Universe representative, Nawat Itsaragrisil, publicly berated her, alleged she had not taken part sufficiently in promotional activities and called security after Bosch tried to speak up to defend herself. Several other contestants responded by walking out with Bosch in solidarity, as Nawat told them to "stop" and suggested he would not let competitors participate in the event if they left. Ultimately, the event proceeded as planned.

As contestants prepared to walk the runway for the 74th Miss Universe competition on Friday, the pageant's organisers were in damage control. In light of recent public statements and social media posts, the Miss Universe Organization considers it necessary to clarify certain inaccuracies, a statement by the organisation began. It was addressing allegations of vote rigging but it could just have easily been referring to a myriad of other scandals the event has seen over recent weeks.

"I wish to express my profound confusion after discovering, via social media, that an impromptu jury has been formed to select the 30 finalists from among the 136 participating countries, without the presence of any of the real 8 members of the jury, including me,"

The 74th annual Miss Universe contest will be held in Bangkok on Friday morning. There will be 120 women competing in the pageant. The contestants include a civil engineer, a "Big Brother" star, and a Ph.D. candidate specializing in HIV research. Drama has surrounded the 2025 Miss Universe pageant, but the show must go on. A new winner will be crowned in Thailand on Friday morning by Miss Universe 2024 Victoria Kjær Theilvig, the first woman from Denmark to win the title.

On Wednesday, the organization announced that Anne Jakrajutatip was replaced as CEO. Jakrajutatip made history as the first woman to own the 74-year-old pageant when her Thai-based company, JKN Global Group, purchased the organization from Endeavor for $20 million in October 2022. She's being replaced by Mario Búcaro, a former diplomat who most recently served as the Miss Universe Organization's vice president for international relations.

Giang went on to say she wanted to show people that "nothing is impossible, and it is never too late for any woman to use the Miss Universe platform to break stereotypes and give back to her community." She then said her representing Vietnam should inspire people to do the things they want to do in life. "This is not just a story about gender. It is a story about people, about faith.