The Miss Universe competition has been thrown into turmoil just days before the final in Bangkok, as a number of judges withdrew amid allegations of secret committees, rigged voting, and personal conflicts of interest. Omar Harfouch, a Lebanese-French composer and one of the contest’s judges, told Times UK that the 30 finalists had been preselected in secret, rendering the official judging panel largely symbolic.
Harfouch, who announced his resignation from the jury on Tuesday, claimed that a parallel “Beyond the Crown” committee made decisive choices before the official judges had any input. According to Harfouch, the committee included individuals with personal or professional ties to contestants, including the fiancé of Miss Paraguay and the national director of Miss Universe Canada. He also alleged that one committee member was involved in an affair with a contestant.
“Many of these women come from humble backgrounds. They invest everything — emotionally, financially, and physically — for a chance to shine. When the process is manipulated behind closed doors, it’s not just unfair, it’s harmful,” Harfouch told Times UK.
The fallout escalated as other prominent judges also stepped down. Former French footballer Claude Makélélé cited “unforeseen personal reasons,” while Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, president of the Miss Universe selection committee, was reported as the third to leave. Harfouch additionally withdrew a musical performance prepared for the event and said he was consulting legal counsel regarding potential formal complaints against the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).
The MUO rejected the allegations, stating that the “Beyond the Crown” initiative operates independently and that no external group has been authorized to evaluate delegates or select finalists.
This scandal follows a separate controversy earlier in the year when pageant director Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly berated Miss Mexico, Fátima Bosch, leading her and other contestants to walk off set in protest.
Observers warn that these controversies could strike at the heart of a pageant system already facing declining interest. Hilary Levey Friedman, a scholar of beauty pageants, told Times UK: “Given the decline in interest in both pageant participation and TV viewership, this is serious.”
The Miss Universe final is scheduled for Friday in Thailand, but with judges quitting and allegations mounting, the competition faces its most serious credibility crisis in years.
