BANGKOK — Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch has been crowned the new Miss Universe in Thailand on Friday — marking the end of an exceptionally scandal filled pageant season.
The 25-year-old contestant had earlier in November walked out of a pageant event after an official publicly berated her in front of dozens of contestants and threatened to disqualify those who supported her.
A week after, two judges resigned, with one of them accusing organisers of rigging the competition.
Miss Universe, founded in the US, is one of the longest-running beauty pageants on the planet. The recent controversies, analysts say, underscore the cultural and strategic differences between the pageant's Thai and Mexican owners.
The pageant saw Thailand's Praveenar Singh place second while the rest of the top five included Venezuela, the Philippines and Cote d'Ivoire.
Thailand is hosting Miss Universe for the fourth time and its delegate this year was considered a frontrunner by fan websites.
The crowning of the new Miss Universe, the 74th since 1952, signals the resolve of an organisation to stay relevant and evolve from a once-a-year television spectacle to a media brand that is ready for TikTok.
The pageant events are being organised by Thai media mogul Nawat Itsaragrasil, who is known to fans as the founder and owner of Miss Grand International, a smaller Thai-based contest that is known for its loud social media presence.
Nawat holds the licence to host this year's Miss Universe pageant, while the organisation is being run out of Mexico by businessman Raul Rocha.
North, Central and South American queens dominated the contest in its early years, but recent decades have seen the rise of fandoms in South East Asia, most especially in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, where pageant crowns have become a way out of poverty or an express pass for girls dreaming of becoming a celebrity.
But things took a dramatic turn at a pre-pageant ceremony early this month, when Nawat told off Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch, in front of dozens of contestants for failing to post promotional content.
When she objected, Nawat called security and threatened to disqualify those supporting her. Ms Bosch then left the room and others joined her in solidarity.
The Miss Universe Organisation condemned Nawat's behaviour as "malicious" and Rocha, speaking by video from Mexico, told his Thai business partner to just "stop".
Nawat later apologised and claimed that some of his words were misunderstood — but a delegation of international executives were sent to take over running the competition.
A week later, two judges resigned with one of them accusing organisers of rigging the selection process.
Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, who announced his resignation from the eight-member jury on Instagram, alleged that an "impromptu jury" had pre-selected finalists ahead of the final on Friday. Hours later, former French football star Claude Makelele also announced he'd pulled out, citing "unforeseen personal reasons".
The Miss Universe Organisation rejected Harfouch's claims, saying that "no external group has been authorised to evaluate delegates or select finalists".
It suggested that Harfouch may have been referring to the Beyond the Crown programme — a "social impact initiative" that operates independently from the main Miss Universe competition, and has a separate selection committee.
Then during the preliminary evening gown round on Wednesday night, Miss Jamaica accidentally fell onstage and had to be rushed out of the theatre in a stretcher. She is recovering in hospital.
The string of controversies comes as Miss Universe transitions to a new leadership after Thai transgender media mogul Anne Jakrajutatip resigned as CEO just before the pre-pageant events and was replaced by Guatemalan diplomat Mario Bucaro.
Ms Jakrajutatip acquired the pageant from US entertainment company Endeavor in 2022. She made sweeping changes towards inclusivity, allowing transgender women, married women and women with children to participate. She also scrapped the age cap for contestants.
As audiences declined over the years, she sought to monetise the Miss Universe brand, stamping it on merchandise such as bottled water and bags.
In 2023, her entertainment company JKN, filed for bankruptcy, citing "liquidity problems".
Before she resigned, Ms Jakrajutatip brought in Rocha from Mexico as business partner and later tapped Nawat to organise the 2025 pageant.
It has been a "very rocky transition" for the pageant's leadership, Dani Walker, an American beauty queen and pageant coach told the BBC. She said important roles were now split between leaders in Bangkok and Mexico.
The leadership structure was much clearer when the pageant was being run by Endeavor, and before that, Donald Trump, she said.
"For fans and outsiders, it's very confusing. No one knows who the real leaders are or who to ask when they have questions, and that's very damaging to the brand," Paula Shugart, who served as Miss Universe Organization president under the previous two owners, told the BBC.
Thitiphong Duangkhong, a scholar of women's and Latin American studies and an expert on beauty pageants, said those behind the pageant should be aware of their cultural differences.
"In our country, we use the Thai language to communicate with our fellow Thais. We understand the social context, we understand social structure, we understand the inequality of power in society, and we constantly try to negotiate with it using the Thai language," he told the BBC.
Thitiphong said Ms Jakrajutatip being a transwoman might not have sat well with some Latin American fans who subscribe to macho culture.
"There's talk of women who aren't women suddenly buying a pageant that's supposed to be about women's entertainment. What's going to happen?"
For years, audiences for the Miss Universe broadcast have been declining steadily as fans to shift on social media. On TikTok and Instagram, former titleholders, even runners up, maintain accounts with millions of followers, transforming them into influencers.
It is in this e-commerce universe that Nawat's Miss Grand International queens are expected to embrace — selling merchandise in live broadcasts — which he tried to introduce to Miss Universe.
But on the Latin American side, beauty queens are still regarded as glamorous television celebrities. A Miss Universe reality show was even staged for that audience and the winner — a Dominican crowned Miss Universe Latina — is competing in the main pageant in Bangkok.
But while the controversies highlight the business side of Miss Universe, former queens continue to use their platform to promote their causes. The 2018 titleholder, Catriona Gray, urged her 13.8 million Instagram followers to help a charity bring safe drinking water to thousands left homeless by back-to-back super typhoons in the Philippines.
Pageants also continue to face constant criticism for objectifying women. But while majority of contestants wore two piece bikinis for the 2025 contest, those from conservative countries were allowed to wear full-body covering in the swimsuit round.
"Of course, it won't be for everyone, and there will always be those who disagree. But as long as the core values are intact, I think pageants will always have a role to play in society," said Ms Shugart, the former president.
She said empowering women should be at the organisation's core.
"Miss Universe is nothing if you're not empowering the women that compete." — BBC
