No finish but to Miss Universe 2025 controversies. Right here’s a rundown of all of it.

MANILA, Philippines – The 74th Miss Universe is probably probably the most memorable version the worldwide pageant has seen in recent times. 

For one, it was the primary version that noticed Palestine ship a consultant, with 27-year-old Nadeen Ayoub even notching a High 30 end. The Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo additionally completed as third runner-up, which was the best placement the nation has seen within the final three years. This, amongst different issues, made it make sense why Miss Universe 2025 was touted because the most-viewed version of all time. 

However historic firsts apart, it’s the seemingly endless controversies that encompass the pageant, a few of its contestants, and the individuals behind it that acquired individuals to tune in to Miss Universe 2025. 

All of it began with a number of candidates strolling out of the sashing ceremony, which led to Miss Grand Worldwide (MGI) founder Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly reprimanding Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch for not taking part in a sponsor shoot for Thailand, and calling her a “dumbhead.” 

Even after Bosch was topped Miss Universe 2025 (in controversial vogue), the problems the pageant was dealing with solely continued to develop. Right here’s a rundown of the brand new developments which have plagued the celebrated pageant. 

Miss Côte D’Ivoire’s High 5 end and eventual resignation

One of many pageant’s clear frontrunners was Miss Universe Côte D’Ivoire Olivia Yacé — whom viewers from throughout the globe had been rooting for. From the get-go, she made clear her philosophy on embracing your identification, which she additional solidified in the course of the High 5 question-and-answer portion. 

Yacé ended up being named 4th runner-up regardless of her robust exhibiting within the Q&A spherical — main followers to assert that she was “robbed” of the Miss Universe title.

On November 24, simply days after Miss Universe 2025 festivities had wrapped up, she introduced her resignation from the title of Miss Universe Africa & Oceania, citing the necessity to keep true to her private values and guiding ideas. 

The 27-year-old Ivorian stunner additionally relinquished future affiliations from the Miss Universe group (MUO), and circled again to her reply within the Q&A spherical: “As I said on stage, it’s my best want to be a job mannequin for the brand new technology, particularly younger women. I encourage them to push their limits, to stroll confidently into rooms the place they imagine they don’t belong, and to proudly embrace their identification.” 

A day after her resignation, MUO president Raul Rocha — who had acquired the stake in January 2024 — got here ahead in a livestream to assert that it was Yacé’s “weak passport” that led to her loss. 

“She’s going to be the Miss Universe who spent a complete 12 months in an condo due to the price of the visa course of with legal professionals,” Rocha was quoted as saying, later including that this might make issues tough if she had been to develop into a Miss Universe titleholder, as she could be required to journey continuously all through her reign. 

In response to the 2025 Passport Index, these with Ivorian passports can enter 29 nations visa-free. Ivorians are required to safe visas for 133 nations, whereas there are 35 nations they need to get visas for upon arrival. All this offers it a passport energy rank of 75. 

Whereas Yacé didn’t straight reply to Rocha’s claims, she quoted Michelle Obama in an Instagram publish the subsequent day: “Once they go low, we go excessive.” 

‘Rigged’ voting in Most Lovely Folks class?

Miss Universe Palestine 2025 Nadeen Ayoub got here ahead with a placing revelation of her personal. In a social media publish on November 23, she bared that she had been main within the Most Lovely Folks fan voting class on the Miss Universe app, with Tanzania’s Naisae Yona trailing behind her with simply half-hour left to go till voting closes. 

She then claimed that inside two minutes, Yona overtook her with over 20,000 votes — one thing she mentioned is “unimaginable” and “unrealistic until performed internally.” This was the one voting class that had remained open, with the winners in different classes already being named. 

“The voting simply closed however I actually needed to say one thing. I’ve to face up for myself similar to I get up for different individuals. As a Palestinian girl, I’ll get up for what’s proper. I’ll get up [against] one thing that I see is flawed, whether or not it’s for myself or for others,” Ayoub mentioned. 

“I simply need to make one thing very clear, which is that this isn’t in regards to the award. I’ve gotten the most important crown. I’ve gotten the most important prize by being Miss Palestine [and] by being the voice of my individuals and everybody’s voice that desires to talk up, that desires to see justice, that desires to see magnificence and tradition and all the attractive issues that I represented on the worldwide stage. And so for me, I imagine I’m already a winner. However when one thing doesn’t appear proper. It’s a time the place we have now to talk up,” she added. 

Rocha ‘fed up,’ desires to promote Miss Universe franchise

On November 24, Rocha had then spoken with Adela Micha of the Mexican information outlet La Saga, the place he had implied that he needed to promote his stake at Miss Universe after the slew of continuous controversies started to encompass the pageant’s 74th version. 

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“It’s simply that I’m so fed up. I’m so fed up with all of the speak. I don’t lend myself to that type of factor,” he mentioned, in keeping with a translation from PEOPLE. “They need to come and let you know what choices you make, the way you make them, why you rent individuals, why you’re taking away individuals and why you add individuals.” 

Rocha then issued a number of clarifications on his personal social media pages. He mentioned that no choose had truly resigned, days after Lebanese artist Omar Harfouch claimed he stepped down as a choose after allegedly discovering out the pageant’s outcomes had been already pre-determined. The MUO president referred to Harfouch as an “opportunist.” 

Days after Harfouch’s alleged resignation, one other choose — skilled soccer participant Claude Makelele — additionally introduced that he wouldn’t be capable to attend the pageant in a now-deleted Instagram publish. Rocha, nevertheless, sought to make it clear that Makelele didn’t resign. 

“The whole circus surrounding their supposed resignation was created falsely, as soon as once more, by the pseudo-musician for his personal profit, realizing that along with his poor and restricted profession, he wouldn’t obtain media consideration in any other case,” Rocha wrote. 

Rocha being investigated for medicine, arms trafficking

Issues finally took a flip for Rocha after Mexico’s Lawyer Normal’s Workplace introduced on November 26 that the MUO president could be investigated for alleged medicine and arms trafficking and gasoline theft. 

Mexican police issued a press release on the matter, and mentioned that it has already issued 13 arrest warrants. Nevertheless, it didn’t title the people concerned. 

Rocha himself has but to talk up on the problem. 

Pointing fingers in Miss Jamaica’s critical fall 

On the identical day that the allegations towards Rocha blew up, Miss Haiti Melissa Sapini got here to the fore with a brand new revelation about Miss Jamaica’s critical fall. 

Sapini alleged in an interview with PEOPLE that an MUO employees member blamed Henry for her personal fall, and proceeded to say that it occurred as a result of “she wasn’t paying consideration.” 

Henry at the moment stays within the ICU in a Thai hospital to hunt therapy for her fall. In response to PEOPLE, she is being accompanied by her sister, Dr. Phylicia Henry-Samuels. 

Miss Universe 2022 and common host R’Bonney Gabriel was not exempt from Rocha’s wrath. He was quoted as saying in a viral video on November 26 that Bosch had gained three million followers in only a week following her victory, but R’Bonney nonetheless solely had 800,000 followers years after she was topped. 

Whereas the Filipino-American magnificence queen expressed dismay over being measured by her social media following, pageant followers rallied behind her, and in simply over 24 hours, she already had 1.2 million Instagram followers. 

“In lower than 24 hours, yall acquired me to 1 MILLION followers! It was by no means in regards to the numbers, however individuals have regarded down on me simply due to my social media follower depend. Thank yall a lot for supporting me,” she wrote. 

From Rocha’s statements to those bombshell revelations by contestants, plainly there really is not any finish but to the controversies surrounding Miss Universe 2025. – Rappler.com