By Easwaran Rutnam
Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch was crowned Miss Universe 2025, just days after she confronted a Thai official during a pre-pageant meeting which had triggered a walk out by several contestants.
Women from over 130 countries and territories competed for the crown at the 74th Miss Universe final held in Thailand.
Thailand’s Praveenar Singh was picked as the runner up, with Venezuela’s Stephany Abasali, Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo and Ivory Coast’s Olivia Yacé making it to the top 5.
In a live streamed pre-pageant meeting held days before the main event, the Director of Miss Universe Thailand Nawat Itsaragrisil scolded Miss Mexico in public after she refused to pose for promotional content and called her dumb.
However Miss Mexico refused to take the insults and walked out resulting in several other contestants walking out with her.
The incident boosted the popularity of Miss Mexico leading up to the Final.
Meanwhile, according to CNN two judges abruptly stepped down from the competition days before the winner was crowned, with one accusing the pageant of being rigged.
One judge, composer Omar Harfouch said he resigned from the eight-member judging panel after claiming there was a secret “impromptu” panel of judges who had pre-selected the top 30 contestants in advance of the final.
However, the Miss Universe Organization denied the claims saying no impromptu jury had been created and that no external group had been authorized to evaluate delegates or select finalists.
The organizers said that all procedures remained governed by the organization’s highest standards of transparency, integrity, and fairness.
