The Miss Universe Organisation crowned its newest winner, Fátima Bosch, who represented Mexico on November 21st 2025. The event was filled with controversies and rumours. The series of events that took place in the Miss Universe 2025 competition made headlines in the newspaper and media articles.
The “Damage” Incident
The Miss Universe Pageant was held in Bangkok, Thailand. During a pre-pageant event, the Miss Universe Director, Mr Nawat Itsaragrisil, berated Miss Mexico, Fátima Bosch, for failing to post promotional content. He reportedly called her a “dumbhead”, which he later claimed he was saying she had caused “damage”.
Following this, when Miss Mexico refused to comply, Mr Nawat called security and threatened to disqualify those supporting her. Miss Mexico walked out of the room. Several people shared video recordings of the event on the internet, and the other contestants walked out in solidarity with her.
Judge Resignations and The Rigging Allegations
Just 3 days before the actual contest, musician Omar Harfaouch resigned from the selection committee and posted multiple allegations of judging misconduct on social media. He claimed that the top 30 finalists were already selected by an impromptu team of jurors for the preliminary round, for which The Miss Universe Organisation denied the allegations.
Following that, soccer player Claude Makélélé also announced his reassignment due to personal reasons. The president of the selection committee, Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, also resigned.
The Fall
Miss Jamaica, 23-year-old Gabrielle Henry, took a tumble during the preliminary evening gown competition, leaving her unconscious and in a critical condition under constant monitoring. The pageant queen fell off the stage while walking on the ramp. The accident resulted in an intracranial haemorrhage with loss of consciousness, a fracture, facial lacerations and other injuries. The Miss Universe Organisation stated that Miss Jamaica is now stable and recovering well from her injuries. They also mentioned that she is in a critical condition under constant neurological monitoring.
The TikTok Challenge Scandal
Miss Chile had posted a TikTok video with a recent trend of “snorting drugs”. The audience did not receive the prank well, and she eventually had to apologise for her action. She also stated, she wants to apologise to those who were offended.
The makeup artist told me to record it, and maybe because of the language barrier, I didn’t fully grasp what was happening. I said no at first, but he insisted, and I went along. I should have said no firmly.”
The Food Poisoning Incident
Miss Haiti, Melissa Sapini, claims that many of the participants were falling ill one after the other. The staff allegedly did not, however, take action to address some of the more preventable illnesses, like food poisoning. “They were just giving us these box lunches that were making people sick,” Sapini claims. “They were not talking about, ‘Okay, everyone’s getting sick. We’re going to do this to change the food, or what have you. That scared me.'”
Miss Haiti’s interview to the PEOPLE: https://people.com/miss-universe-contestant-breaks-silence-on-pageant-controversies-behind-the-scenes-exclusive-11857775
A Miss Grand International representative said, As the host, MGI follows strict food management standards based on our extensive experience in pageant operations. Contestants must submit their health conditions and dietary restrictions in advance. Several contestants did not provide this information, making it impossible for us to prepare special meals in time.” Continuing, the representative clarifies, “We repeatedly requested this information from MUO, but MUO could not provide it. In such cases, immediate on-site solutions were applied.”
All in all, the Miss Universe Pageant 2025 was a mess. Some people believe this is the first time such a controversy has arisen, while others think it has long been the norm in pageants and has only come to light now.
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