Miss Universe 2025 judge quits, claiming pageant is rigged
Two Miss Universe judges resigned days before the annual beauty pageant, with one of them accusing organizers of rigging the selection process.
Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, who announced his resignation from the eight-member jury on Instagram, claimed that an “unprepared jury” pre-selected the finalists before the competition to be held in Thailand on Friday.
Hours later, French football manager Claude Makélélé also announced his withdrawal from the team, citing “unforeseen personal reasons”.
The resignations come just weeks after several Miss Universe contestants left a preliminary competition event due to controversial comments made by an official from host country Thailand.
“An impromptu jury was formed, without real jury members, to select 30 finalists from 136 participating countries.” [eight] Jurors, including myself,” Mr. Harfouch wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, saying he discovered it through social media.
He claimed that the unofficial jury consisted of “individuals with significant potential conflicts of interest due to certain personal relationships with some of the Miss Universe contestants.”
Mr. Harfouch did not elaborate on how this “impromptu jury” would operate or how it would override the decision of the official jury.
The Miss Universe Organization released a statement on Tuesday denying Mr. Harfouch’s claims and saying “no external group is authorized to evaluate delegates or select finalists.”
suggested this Mr. Harfouch may be referring to the Beyond the Crown program, a “social impact initiative” that operates independently of the Miss Universe pageant and has a separate selection committee.
The Miss Universe Organization announced the Beyond the Crown selection committee on Monday. The organization said in a statement on Tuesday that Mr. Harfouch’s allegations “mischaracterize” the program.
Makélélé, who also announced his resignation on Instagram, described it as a “difficult decision”.
“I have great respect for Miss Universe. The platform represents empowerment, diversity and excellence, the values I have always stood for throughout my career,” she wrote.
The beauty pageant faced backlash earlier this month after Thai director Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly scolded Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch at a pre-pageant event for not posting promotional content on social media platforms.
In videos that have since gone viral, Ms. Bosch and several other contestants were seen leaving the event and some were heard yelling at Mr. Nawat.
Mr Nawat later claimed some of his remarks had been misunderstood – but his behavior nevertheless prompted a harsh rebuke from the Miss Universe Organisation, which has since sent a delegation of international executives to run the pageant.
