Two Judges Resign Amid Controversy Over Miss Universe Selection Process

Staff Report: PNN

Just three days before the final results of the 74th Miss Universe competition, two judges resigned from their positions. One of them alleged that the selection process was opaque, according to BBC reports.

The competition is being held in Bangkok and Phuket, Thailand, with the final winner to be announced on Friday. On Tuesday, Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch announced his resignation from the eight-member jury board. In a social media post, he claimed that an “informal jury team” had already selected the finalists before the competition began.

Harfouch wrote, “Among 136 contestants, an informal jury was formed to select 30 finalists. No member of the official eight-member jury was present during their decision-making, including myself. I was shocked to learn about this through social media.” He further alleged that some members of the informal committee had personal relationships with certain contestants.

Following Harfouch’s allegations, French football manager Claude Makélélé also resigned a few hours later, citing “personal reasons.”

Miss Universe organizers rejected Harfouch’s claims, stating that no external team was given authority to select or evaluate finalists. According to the organization, Harfouch may have confused a separate program called Beyond the Crown with the informal jury. This program is entirely separate from the main competition and has its own selection committee.

Earlier this month, another controversy arose when Nawat Itsaragrisil, director of the Thai organizing committee, publicly questioned Miss Mexico Fatima Bosh about not posting promotional content on social media. A video of the incident went viral, showing Bosh and a few contestants leaving the event. Nawat later claimed that parts of his comments were misinterpreted.