The chaos of this year’s Miss Universe pageant didn’t end after Mexico’s Fátima Bosch Fernández was crowned the winner last week in a competition marred by bullying, a hospitalization and allegations of vote rigging.
Instead, inexplicably, it’s gotten worse.
“Something was deeply wrong behind the scenes. We felt it. We saw it. We lived it,” Miss Universe Haiti Melissa Queenie Sapini said in a statement released to the media Wednesday.
Sapini’s statement comes amid fresh controversies for the 2025 Miss Universe pageant, which was held in Bangkok and culminated in Bosch being named the winner last Friday.
At that point, the competition had already been plagued by a Thai organizer’s sharp-tongued scolding of Bosch caught on a livestream, two judges dropping out — with one suggesting that there was an element of vote rigging to the contest — plus a fake drug controversy and a contestant falling off the stage.
What is happening in the Miss Universe universe? And can the 74-year-old pageant survive the drama? These questions loom amid the ongoing debate over whether beauty pageants are archaic or empowering. But either way, it appears people are watching.
Since the winner was announced, at least two contestants have renounced their titles and several others have spoken out about the competition. Miss Jamaica, Gabrielle Henry, who fell off the stage, is still in the hospital.
Meanwhile, there are two arrest warrants for two of the pageant’s co-owners in Thailand and Mexico, and now even the organization’s president is reportedly fed up and looking to sell his stake.
“It’s just that I’m so fed up. I’m so fed up with all the talk,” Miss Universe Organization president Raul Rocha said in an interview Monday with Mexican journalist Adela Micha, and translated in media reports.
Fátima Bosch Fernández was crowned Miss Universe 2025 on Friday in Bangkok. It was a dramatic victory for Bosch, 25, in a pageant plagued by controversy and chaos.
Viewership ‘shattered records’
The Miss Universe Organization recently posted a video saying it “shattered records” this year as the most-viewed Miss Universe in history, with 2.6 billion global views across social media.
NBC announced Tuesday that Telemundo’s live broadcast in Spanish also set a new record with 2.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched primetime entertainment special on Spanish-language television in 2025.
Miss Universe has not received this much mainstream media coverage since Steve Harvey named the wrong winner back in 2015, BBC journalist and global pop culture expert William Lee Adams told CBC News.
“It’s clear that audiences love a train wreck,” he said.
But it’s a different story for the contestants, Adams said, adding that the fact several queens and organizations have cut ties with the pageant “speaks volumes.” Add to that the arrest warrants, allegations of vote rigging and mistreatment — and it doesn’t look good, he said.
“It all tarnishes the crown,” Adams said. “A thinning of franchises would mean a smaller and weaker competition. You can’t call your winner Miss Universe if she only beats a few dozen contestants.”
Contestants renounce titles, speak out
And now, the drama. First, at least two contestants have renounced their titles since the competition ended: Miss Côte d’Ivoire and Miss Estonia. And a handful of Miss Universe organizations have signalled they might cut ties with the competition.
Côte d’Ivoire’s Olivia Yace, who was the fourth runner up and named Miss Universe Africa and Oceania, announced on Instagram Monday that she was giving up her title, “as well as any future affiliation with the Miss Universe Committee.
“I must remain true to my values,” Yace wrote in the post, adding that her greatest wish is to be a positive role model for younger generations, especially girls.
Yace said stepping away will mean she can dedicate herself to her goals and values more fully.
Miss Universe Estonia Brigitta Schaback also announced on Instagram that she was stepping down, saying on Sunday that “my values and work ethics do not align with those of the National Director, Natalie Korneitsik.”
Korneitsik is the national director of the Miss Universe Estonia organization. The organization told People magazine there was “no personal conflict involved” and said, without elaborating, that Schaback had made “inappropriate” public comments.
Schaback has posted several Instagram stories criticizing the pageant, including some that were still visible Wednesday.
“I never imagined that in 2025 I would have to stand against a platform built to champion women’s rights and empowerment — just to defend those very same rights and equal opportunities,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, Frédéric Gilbert, president of the Miss France organization, was quoted in a Nov. 21 article saying he’s questioning whether to cut ties with the competition over the Beyond the Crown program, because he says it wasn’t made clear how judges selected contestants for it.
“We can’t just sweep this under the rug. A blunder can happen. But this series of mishaps — they’ll have to explain themselves,” Gilbert told Paris Match.
On Monday, the national director of Miss Universe Guyana and co-director of Miss Universe Ghana, Teri Brown-Walker, announced on Instagram that she was resigning “amid ongoing concerns about transparency in the selection process.”
‘The truth is coming’
Other contestants have spoken out about their own experiences, including Miss Universe Portugal Camila Vitorino.
In an Instagram post Tuesday, Vitorino wrote she “no longer feels represented by the principles the Miss Universe organization has chosen to uphold” after claiming organizers implied that women in relationships or with children don’t have a chance of winning.
There’s also Miss Haiti’s cryptic media statement today, in which she called her experience “a nightmare.”
“You’ve seen the headlines. But what we went through was far worse. A rigged voting system. Judges with personal relationships with contestants. Blatant favoritism towards certain contestants based on the colour of their skin,” Sapini said.
No further details about the allegations were provided, but the message ended with “the truth is coming.”
Arrest warrants for pageant co-owners
By Wednesday, there was another new chapter to the controversies: two arrest warrants.
A court in Thailand said Wednesday that it has issued an arrest warrant for a co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization in connection with a fraud case. Jakkaphong (Anne) Jakrajutatip was charged with fraud, then released on bail in 2023.
She failed to appear as required in a Bangkok court on Tuesday. Her whereabouts remain unclear. She did not appear at the 74th Miss Universe competition.
Meanwhile, Mexico is investigating the president of the Miss Universe organization in relation to alleged drugs and arms trafficking, as well as fuel theft, the Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday, according to Reuters.
In a statement, the office said it has issued 13 arrest warrants as part of the probe, without identifying individuals. But local media reported a warrant has been issued for Miss Universe President Raul Rocha. The Mexican national owns half of the Miss Universe organization.
The Attorney General’s Office, in disclosing details of the investigation which it said dates back to 2024, referred to Rocha as “Raul R,” as is customary in Mexico.
Adams, the pop culture expert, says there are huge business implications given this crisis, but also an opportunity.
“More people than ever are waiting to see what the Miss Universe Organization does next,” Adams said.
“Addressing the legitimate concerns of the participants and the franchises they represent could be the biggest glow-up in pageant history.”
