Throughout the 2025 Miss Universe pageant, the competition has been stained by multiple scandals – from contestants resigning and on-stage accidents to a rigging controversy regarding the top five finalists. From preliminaries to coronation, here is a rundown of the biggest scandals from Miss Universe 2025.
First was the now-viral walkout during the Miss Universe sash ceremony after Mexico representative Fatima Bosch was publicly scolded by Miss Universe Thailand director Nawat Itsaragrisil. The incident took place on Nov. fourth, when Nawat was speaking to the more than 70 delegates present, and called out Bosch for being one of “a list” of contestants who failed to post about sponsorship events taking place in the host country Thailand.
When discussing a sponsored competition and dinner scheduled in Thailand, Nawat seemingly used Bosch as an example of what not to do, calling her “dumb” for listening to her national director’s orders not to post unofficial events and telling her, “It’s not looking good for you.” Bosch, still standing after being singled out, fought back, stating, “You are not respecting me as a woman,” and, “It’s not my fault that you have problems with my organization.”
Because Nawat had already been questioned about the legitimacy of the sponsored events in Thailand, and seemed to single-out Miss Mexico when several other delegates took the same actions, observers speculated he was taking his anger out on Mexico because he was at conflict with the Mexican owner of Miss Universe, Raul Rocha.
After Bosch’s response, the situation escalated to Nawat calling security to escort Bosch, who then left on her own, immediately followed by other delegates such as Miss Iraq, Miss Canada and even the 2024 reigning Miss Universe, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig. The solidarity of women highlighted the spirit of what Miss Universe stands for, while the heated argument between Nawat and Bosch illustrated the reality of disrespect women can face from men in positions of power.
On Nov. 19, just one day before the live competition, the Miss Jamaica delegate Gabrielle Henry took a painful fall off the stage during the evening gown portion of the pageant. The moment was captured on camera, where Henry is seen exiting and seems to take a step past the stage’s edge, sending her straight to the floor. She was carried out in a stretcher and remains in the hospital even a week after the fall.
During this same event, Miss Netherlands delegate Nathalie Yasmin suffered a wardrobe malfunction with the back of her dress ripping as she turned to finish her walk. Although there was not necessarily anyone to blame for these incidents, the public started to question the organization’s competence and speculated mismanagement. These incidents further sparked the idea that the 2025 Miss Universe pageant was “cursed” due to the number of issues occurring in such a short period.
The final segment of the pageant took place on Nov. 20 and aired live from Bangkok, Thailand, drawing mixed reactions around the world. The top five finalists included some previously popular delegates, including Mexico’s Fatima Bosch, Thailand’s Veena Singh and Venezuela’s Stephany Abasali. However, the two remaining contestants – Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo and Côte d’Ivoire’s Olivia Yace – impressed the public with their eloquent answers during the Q&A section. When these two delegates ranked the lowest out of the five finalists, many deemed the pageant was rigged, and even demanded the competition remove the Q&A section, arguing it did not seem to influence the ranks enough to crown a “rightful” winner.
The top two finalists were Miss Thailand and Miss Mexico, who had seemingly the “weakest” answers during the Q&A segment, just further angering fans who expected different candidates to advance. When Mexico’s Fatima Bosch was crowned, fans across the world were divided: some considered her the best choice to represent women after she bravely stood up for herself after her confrontation with the Miss Universe Thailand director, while others stated she was the most undeserving finalist, winning out of pity due to the incident.
Following the coronation, online discussions and social media platforms flooded with racist, misogynistic comments about Bosch, with most viewers criticizing her “messy” and “simple” answer compared to other delegates in the finals, with thousands of fans online deeming Côte d’Ivoire’s Olivia Yace the “real Miss Universe 2025.” This hate only worsened when Olivia Yace was crowned the continental title of Miss Universe Africa and Oceania, only to resign from the position three days later, further fueling the idea that she was robbed from the Miss Universe crown and would not accept anything less than.
Despite the endless controversies amid the 2025 Miss Universe competition, this year’s cycle proved to be a success, with all-time-high fan engagement and the highest viewership in the program’s history! The live broadcast on Telemundo reached a record-breaking 2.6 million views, making it the most watched primetime program on Spanish-language TV this year, along with a staggering 2.6 billion views worldwide on social media.
