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The energy in the room couldn’t have been more tense. Some women were yelling, telling their new friends to stand up and leave. Others were glued to their seats, crying in red-carpet-worthy gowns. Contestant Andromeda Peters was in the middle of it all.

A licensed therapist since 2017, Peters felt compelled to help. She instructed the women to close their eyes and feel their backs against the chairs, to feel their feet planted firmly to the ground, some in their 6-inch stilettos. Then she began to lead the group through a breathwork exercise: Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, she said, and now exhale.

It was the very first day of Miss Universe.

“We were all distraught,” Peters, who was Miss Ghana 2025, told Business Insider about her fellow contestants. “I was going to walk out, but then I realized, there’s a girl crying next to me and she’s holding my hand. There’s a girl behind me crying. So I helped my sisters ground themselves.”

Chaos had erupted among the pageant queens after Miss Universe director Nawat Itsaragrisil yelled at Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch. Their confrontation was captured on livestream, kicking off what would become one of the messiest competitions in the pageant’s 74-year history. When Bosch was ultimately named the new Miss Universe on November 21, many contestants wondered if they had ever really stood a chance at the crown.

Over the weeks that followed, contestants that Business Insider spoke with would accuse the organization of grueling conditions, favoritism, inconsistent rules, and an ever-changing judging process. Interviews with more than a dozen contestants reveal how a pageant marketed as a women’s empowerment platform had fallen apart as the world watched.

Now, some believe that only a dramatic leadership change can fix Miss Universe.

“I could give you the pageant answer, or I could just be real: Everyone has to go, absolutely everyone,” Miss Haiti Melissa Sapini said.

The Miss Universe Organization did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Drama from the start

As November neared, 120 women packed their bags and began the journey to Thailand, where they’d spend a month attending events across Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya.

For many contestants, walking the Miss Universe stage was a childhood dream finally coming true. Some were seasoned pageant queens with multiple crowns and sashes glittering on their shelves. Others were first-timers. Miss Bonaire Nicole Peiliker-Visser was inspired to compete after her daughter won Mini Miss Universe, while Miss Hungary Kincső Dezsény was searching for a purpose beyond modeling.

“If you get beauty from … God, you need to use it for good,” Dezsény told Business Insider.

Whatever their motivation, the women thought they knew what to expect. The three-week competition would kick off with sponsorship events and media opportunities as they traveled throughout Thailand. Then, contestants would return to the capital to compete in the evening gown, swimsuit, national costume, and interview competitions. A panel of judges would determine the results, though one woman would be able to earn a spot in the top 30 by winning the “People’s Choice” category in Miss Universe’s official fan-voting app.

Meanwhile, trouble was already brewing within the pageant’s leadership.

This year’s event was organized by Itsaragrisil, a controversial figure in the pageant world known as “Papa Nawat.” The Thai businessman, who took over the Miss Thailand pageant in February, has repeatedly come under fire for shaming beauty queens at Miss Grand International, a separate competition he founded in 2013. The flashy and over-the-top production is built around Itsaragrisil’s “4B Framework:” beauty, body, brains, and business.

To kick off the Miss Universe pageant, the Miss Thailand Organization announced it would host a “special dinner and talk show” with Itsaragrisil, Miss Universe 2024 Victoria Kjær Theilvig, and a select group of 2025 contestants. This exclusive dinner, which had been a fixture of Miss Grand International, had never been done at Miss Universe. Fan voting would determine the 10 contestants who would be allowed to attend.

Though some Miss Universe contestants promoted the dinner, they weren’t all on board. Some women worried that scoring a seat at the table could influence final judging during the actual pageant. Miss Canada Jaime VandenBerg told Business Insider that she didn’t “condone what feels like women being auctioned off for dinner with a man.”

The dinner was eventually canceled after Miss Universe called it an “unauthorized activity.” The organization’s president, Raul Rocha, reiterated in a November 3 letter that only the four traditional categories of competition would be considered in the judging.

A spokesperson for Itsaragrisil told Business Insider that the dinner had been “a sponsor campaign designed to help contestants express their personalities.” Following Rocha’s letter, the spokesperson said many contestants believed all other activities were optional, and more than 30 contestants refused to participate in sponsorship events.

“Sponsor-related activities are a necessary and standard component of any international pageant production,” the spokesperson added. “Sponsors rightfully expect visibility and engagement in return for their contributions.”

The rising tensions came to a head on November 4, the first official day of the pageant, during the confrontation between Itsaragrisil and Bosch. All the pageant queens had been gathered to receive their official Miss Universe sashes, a tradition one contestant compared to the opening ceremony at the Olympics, but the event didn’t begin as planned.

“We’re going in excited for this big moment that everyone lives for,” Peters said. “This was supposed to be our moment to shine at Miss Universe, and then we’re all being yelled at.”

Contestants told Business Insider that Itsaragrisil said he had a list of 20 countries refusing to do sponsorship posts on social media and repeatedly asked the women to “own up to it” before he started calling out specific countries.

“It got to the point where no one even moved because you felt like if you flinched, he would just call you up,” Sapini said. “All I’m thinking is, ‘Oh my God, please don’t say Haiti.'”

When Itsaragrisil turned his attention to Bosch, a heated back-and-forth began. She told the director, “You are not respecting me as a woman,” and he called for security to remove her from the room. Bosch walked out instead, with dozens of contestants following behind her.

“She was shaking,” VandenBerg said of Bosch. “She had tears in her eyes. Victoria popped in and said, ‘Girls, you don’t have to put up with this,’ and I was one of the first to walk out.”

“I was so shocked and angered by the lack of respect that I just did not want to be in that room anymore,” said Miss Armenia Peggy Garabekian, who was among the first to leave. “Then a few of my delegate sisters messaged me and said, ‘Peggy, he’s not letting us out.'”

The women had been seated in alphabetical order for the sashing ceremony, so contestants at the back of the room didn’t have a chance to leave before the Miss Universe staff shut the doors.

“You’re at a loss because you’re uncertain and trying to stay calm,” Miss Malaysia Chloe Lim, who was unable to exit the room, said. “At that moment, we were wondering, ‘Is the competition still going to happen?'”

“It got me really anxious about the legitimacy of the whole event,” Miss Hong Kong Lizzie Li said.

There was a dark cloud hovering over the set the whole time. I didn’t think it could get worse. Then it got worse than worse.Steve Byrne, Miss Universe’s onstage host

Itsaragrisil’s spokesperson said staff temporarily closed the door because “a large number of press and media were gathered directly outside the room, creating a volatile environment.”

The online backlash was swift, but it wasn’t just directed at Itsaragrisil. Some contestants who didn’t leave the room were “being bullied really badly” by fans on social media, Peters said.

“I feel like nobody in the organization did enough; they didn’t care about our mental state and what everyone went through,” Peiliker-Visser, who said she faced online harassment, told Business Insider.

On the day of the confrontation, Rocha said Itsaragrisil’s participation would be limited or eliminated entirely. Yet contestants said he only missed a few events, and Itsaragrisil was quickly and quietly reintroduced.

Itsaragrisil’s spokesperson told Business Insider that Rocha’s promise to limit the director’s presence was never “operationally realistic.” The spokesperson added, “Nawat continued attending activities because he was the only individual with the authority and understanding to ensure the pageant could continue.”

Itsaragrisil tearfully apologized the day after the incident, telling reporters, “I am human. I didn’t want to do anything like that.”

A grueling environment

Turn on a Miss Universe competition, and you’ll see the three-hour culmination of a weekslong whirlwind experience. While the sea of shimmering sashes and sparkling gowns may look glamorous, there’s a lot of sacrifice off-screen.

For many women, the pressure of the competition was sky-high. After all, these pageant queens weren’t just representing themselves — they were each representing an entire nation. Some women came from countries that had sent them abroad to train with top runway coaches or create couture costumes with the most in-demand designers. Contestants from smaller countries, which typically don’t have many sponsors, had paid thousands of dollars out of pocket for their gowns alone.

Once they arrived in Thailand, contestants had to travel to multiple events each day, sometimes taking flights in the middle of the night before they were expected to participate in various activities, fulfill a daily checklist of social media sponsorship posts, and fight off crowds of passionate bloggers and fans — all while looking picture-perfect.

Contestants said they were forbidden from using hairstylists and makeup artists to help them prepare for each day’s events, so they would regularly wake up at 3 a.m. to get competition-ready. Some simply slept with their makeup on.

When food poisoning or an illness hit, as it frequently did throughout the weeks of competition, many women had to decide whether to rest or miss an important rehearsal. Sometimes, they didn’t have a choice. Dezsényi said her bout with food poisoning was so bad that she spent four days in the hospital — but still made it to the final show.

After these long days, the women were greeted at the hotel lobby by hordes of fans or pageant bloggers seeking an interview. Contestants told Business Insider that, unlike past Miss Universe competitions, they hadn’t been given chaperones to help manage the crowds.

“They said, ‘We’re not going to have chaperones because you’re grown women,’ but at the same time, you’re putting us in the public spotlight,” VandenBerg said. “To not have security, to me, is kind of crazy.”

Steve Byrne, the onstage host of this year’s competition, told Business Insider that he was shocked by how the Miss Universe Organization treated the women.

“These girls are cooped up for almost 30 days,” he said. “Every day, they have to go to a sponsored dinner. They have to go to this resort and pretend they’re having fun at the pool. To me, it seemed everyone was losing sight of what’s important here. Is anybody thinking about these women? That’s what bothered me.”

Some contestants enjoyed the action-packed itinerary, which included everything from Muay Thai lessons to gala dinners. Miss India Manika Vishwakarma said she appreciated the “incredible focus on fan interactions.”

Others were dismayed by the daily sponsorship events and noticed a lack of philanthropy in the line-up. Miss Universe’s former president, Paula Shugart, told Business Insider that contestants previously participated in an average of three philanthropy events. This year had none.

“I’m a representative of my country, and you’re telling me, ‘Hey, hold this dietary protein powder or take photos with this luggage,'” Garabekian said. “Throughout the month, we could have been taken to a hospital, orphanage, school, anywhere where we could have helped people in need.”

Itsaragrisil’s spokesperson said the Miss Universe Organization did not request any philanthropy events in Thailand, instead focusing on its digital advocacy platform, “Beyond the Crown,” which required contestants to film a video explaining how they used their title to uplift social causes.

Favoritism takes hold

“Sash factor” is a well-known term in the pageant community, bestowed upon the countries that treat Miss Universe like their own Super Bowl. These fan bases dissect the contestants’ every move with the rigor of a fantasy line-up. Their national queen, the star quarterback, is typically rewarded with millions of social media followers.

Miss Universe is designed to be a fair competition, but even the contestants recognize that the playing field isn’t exactly equal. Countries with significant “sash factor” tend to have more sponsors to cover the costs of the gowns and training, and typically receive far more fan attention outside their country. Contestants said that favoritism was also apparent among this year’s official sponsors for the pageant, who were selecting queens from “sash factor” countries for more photo shoots and media appearances.

“They really are looking for women who are popular and have lots of followers,” said Peiliker-Visser. “And if you don’t, you just don’t count.”

Appealing to sponsors has always been necessary to help fund the pageant, but Shugart said in years past it typically wasn’t the main focus of the contestants’ activities. This year, though, multiple women said they were brought into a room and asked to explain any missing sponsorship posts for each brand that had partnered with Miss Universe during the competition.

“I found this extremely unusual and uncomfortable,” Garabekian said. “It made me feel more like a tool for sponsorship obligations, rather than someone there to contribute meaningfully.”

Itsaragrisil’s spokesperson said the sponsor checklist was a “standard operational requirement, not an unusual demand,” and no contestant was “forced or penalized” for a lack of posts.

“It is important to emphasize: MUO is not a charitable organization,” the spokesperson added.

As the competition progressed, multiple contestants said it became apparent that some women were secretly using makeup artists and hairstylists to get them competition-ready every morning. This hurt morale, particularly among the pageant queens from smaller countries.

“They scared us so much about the hairstylists and makeup artists, we didn’t even try to think about it,” said Peiliker-Visser. “But these girls were allowed. I said, ‘Oh, they must be special because they’re allowed everything.'”

After several contestants complained, a staff member from Miss Universe held a meeting.

“They said, ‘Girls, we understand there’s a lot of favoritism, and maybe you’re feeling down about it. We just want you to know that it’s the sponsors and has nothing to do with the results of Miss Universe. We’re looking for small countries with big hearts, too,'” Sapini said.

Contestants said the organization promised to take disciplinary action against those who brought makeup artists and stylists, but women continued to break the rules and still placed in the top 30 or better.

A confusing voting app

While contestants attended events, fans were logging into the Miss Universe app to vote — after watching ads or purchasing votes in bundles — in categories ranging from best skin and evening gown to “Aura of the Day” and “People’s Choice.”

The “People’s Choice” winner would automatically earn a spot in the top 30 — a prize that has become popular across various pageant systems in recent years — but contestants told Business Insider they were unsure whether fan votes would impact anything else.

Conflicting messages made it worse. Rocha’s November 3 statement said contestants were judged only in the four traditional categories — evening, swimsuit, national costume, and interview. Yet the app said votes contributed “10% to the final score of the top 30 placement.”

Peiliker-Viser said the Miss Universe Organization told her national director before the competition that fan votes wouldn’t count. “My director was really concerned because we’re a population of 26,000 people,” she added. “How are they going to measure a small island like Bonaire with other countries?”

For Sapini, it was upsetting to watch people in Haiti work hard to vote for her when there was so much ambiguity around their worth.

“Haiti is a poverty-stricken country, and people in these villages collected their money to send to the Miss Universe Organization because they held onto hope that this would be something good for our country,” she said. “But the voting system was all over the place. It made no sense.”

Can the real judge please stand up?

Miss Universe hurtled toward its final days just as it began — with more confusion.

Speculation surrounding who was judging this year’s competition began circulating online as judges started dropping out. Behind the scenes, contestants said they were just as unsure about who was deciding their fate.

Three days before the November 21 final, composer Omar Harfouch dropped out as a judge, accusing the Miss Universe Organization of carrying out a “secret vote” to select the top 30 without the official judging panel. Former soccer star Claude Makélélé exited the same day due to “unforeseen personal reasons.”

Harfouch also said Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie resigned that week, but VandenBerg said her exit had been misconstrued and that “she dropped out so far in advance.” The princess never publicly explained why.

In a statement, Miss Universe said Harfouch was confused by its announcement of an eight-person selection committee for the pageant’s new “Beyond the Crown” program, which they said operated “entirely independently” to select a winner that had no bearing on the final results. Contestants told Business Insider it was unclear what the winner of the “Beyond the Crown” title would receive.

That statement added more fuel to the rumors, as pageant fans said on social media that James Irvin Healy, one of the “Beyond the Crown” judges, was in a relationship with Miss Paraguay, Yanina Gómez, and began circulating pictures of them together.

Gómez, who went on to win “Beyond the Crown” and “People’s Choice,” never publicly addressed the allegations that she was in a relationship with one of the judges, which fans considered a significant conflict of interest. Meanwhile, the Miss Universe Organization removed Healy’s picture from its November 17 Instagram post announcing the eight-person panel.

Gómez and Healy didn’t respond to requests for comment.

To maintain transparency, Miss Universe previously relied on a separate preliminary selection committee, which it’d announce on Instagram, to decide which contestants advanced to the top 30 ahead of the televised finals. No such distinction or announcement was made this year.

I’m so glad I saw what it’s like because this world is insane.Miss Bonaire Nicole Peiliker-Visser

Some contestants said they were surprised when they walked into their closed-door interview and saw an eight-person panel that included Theilvig, then-Miss Universe CEO Mario Búcaro — who stepped down on December 12, less than two months after taking over the role — a past Miss Thailand, and some Miss Universe staff members.

“I’ve never done a pageant where the staff was judging you,” said Peters, who has competed since 2014. “You typically want a panel of judges with different experiences, backgrounds, and opinions.”

As confusion swirled around the judges, a terrible accident occurred during the preliminary evening gown competition. Contestants were devastated after Miss Jamaica Gabrielle Henry fell off the stage. She remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

“I’ll be honest, there was a dark cloud hovering over the set the whole time,” said Byrne, the onstage host. “I didn’t think it could get worse. Then it got worse than worse.”

A winner is finally crowned

The Miss Universe final began at 8 a.m. local time so that it could air live during the US primetime. Contestants arrived at 1 a.m. for their call time. “We were making jokes with each other backstage, trying to keep our energy up,” Peters said. “It literally felt like we were in survivor mode.”

The final two came down to Bosch and Miss Thailand Praveenar Singh. When the host called Miss Mexico’s name, he said the stadium filled with boos. It could’ve been locals rooting for Miss Thailand, passionate supporters of fan favorite Miss Côte d’Ivoire Olivia Yacé — who placed fourth runner-up — or the shock of Bosch winning after her dramatic start to the pageant. Whatever the reason, Byrne said he knew it would be bad for Bosch.

“I thought, ‘Boy, this woman is going to be put through the wringer,” he said.

As fans started to doubt the legitimacy of the results online, Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova — who joined the judging panel after Harfouch resigned — posted a picture of Singh, the runner-up, on Instagram with the caption “My winner!”

Glebova also noted that, unlike past Miss Universe competitions, there had been no accounting firm to audit the results. “Until then, I don’t think I will be participating as a judge again,” she added.

In the hours following the announcement of the winner, questions about the integrity of the judging process intensified. Harfouch said on Instagram that the organization’s president, Rocha, had told him to vote for Bosch before he resigned as a judge. Fans also alleged that Bosch’s father had done business with one of Rocha’s companies, a claim the pageant queen denied.

Rocha said one of his companies had a 2023 contract with Pemex, where Bosch’s father works, but it was “impossible” that there was any connection between that and Bosch’s win. Her father added in a November 25 statement that his role at Pemex had nothing to do with awarding contracts and that he’d only met Rocha for the first time at the Miss Mexico 2025 pageant in September.

In a separate statement, the president told pageant fans that there were “countless situations” during the three weeks of Miss Universe that went into deciding the winner, appearing to contradict his previous statement that only the four categories of competition would be used during the judging process.

During a November 24 interview on Mexican journalist Adela Micha’s news show, Rocha seemed to indicate that one of those factors was the strength of a contestant’s passport. He told Micha that a Côte d’Ivoire passport, which requires visas for 175 countries, would have made it difficult for Yacé to travel as Miss Universe if she had won the crown.

“She’s going to be the Miss Universe who spent a whole year in an apartment because of the cost of visa processes, of lawyers,” he said.

That same day, Yacé announced that she was resigning as Miss Universe Africa and Oceania — a title she received after placing fourth runner-up — because her values no longer aligned with the organization.

Contestants defended Yacé and questioned whether women from smaller countries ever stood a chance. In fact, multiple contestants that Business Insider spoke with said similar comments were made about their own passports during the competition.

“We need to be valued by our work and what we did onstage, not on the strength of our passport,” Miss Turks and Caicos Bereniece Dickenson said.

A leadership in crisis

Miss Universe’s leadership has weathered several controversies since it changed hands in October 2022. During his interview with Micha, Rocha said he was “fed up” with owning Miss Universe and was looking to sell his 50% stake. What he didn’t mention was the organization’s growing list of legal issues.

The other half of the organization is owned by JKN Global Group, whose founder, former Miss Universe CEO Anne Jakrajutatip, stepped down in June after the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that she had included false or misleading information in the financial statements. On November 26, the Associated Press reported that a Bangkok court had issued an arrest warrant for Jakrajutatip in an ongoing fraud case. Jakrajutatip hasn’t commented.

That same day, news broke that an arrest warrant had also been issued for Rocha in an investigation involving alleged weapons and drugs trafficking, fuel theft, and organized criminal activity. A Mexican official later said that there was no evidence of organized crime money within Miss Universe. By December 5, Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit had frozen Rocha’s bank accounts.

Amid the flurry of legal action, Miss Universe addressed rumors that a Thailand-based cryptocurrency company, TCG Social Media Group, had purchased the pageant. In a December 3 statement, the organization said it was aware of TCG’s interest but was not in the midst of any sale or negotiation. TCG Social Media Group could not be reached for comment.

Some contestants believe that new leadership would help Miss Universe regain its sparkle.

“I genuinely hope the Miss Universe Organization focuses on transparency,” Miss Bulgaria Gaby Guha said. “Clearer rules, consistent communication, and a visible decision-making process all help build trust, not just for contestants, but for fans who invest their passion into the competition.”

“No matter who wins or who owns the pageant, the power is in the dream and what you do with it,” VandenBerg said. “You can still believe in the dream, the sisterhood, and the impact Miss Universe has made over decades.”

For others, though, the drama at this year’s pageant is too much to overcome.

“This is just despicable behavior to me,” Sapini, who also competed at Miss USA in 2024, told Business Insider. “I can’t preach to the next generation of girls that this should be your dream.”

“I’m so glad I saw what it’s like because this world is insane,” Peiliker-Visser said. “It’s my daughter’s dream to go to Miss Universe, but my kids are not doing this.”