The Miss Universe Pageant Is a Hot Mess and That’s Good for Business
Out of the final five, Fatima Bosch of Mexico took the Miss Universe title.
Photographer: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
If your social media feeds are driven by similar algorithms to mine, you’ll know that the Miss Universe contest hasn’t completely ended despite a winner being crowned on Nov. 21 in Thailand. In fact, you might say we’ve had a month of pageantry — provided you focus on how people can make spectacles of themselves. For those who’ve missed out, here’s as sober-minded a synopsis as I can come up with.
On Nov. 4, Fátima Bosch (Miss Mexico) and other candidates walked out of a pre-pageant event after she said a local producer called her “dumbhead.” That official, Nawat Itsaragrisil — a Thai TV personality turned beauty pageant entrepreneur — claims he said “damage,” but was reprimanded by the Miss Universe Organization. In succeeding days, judges either resigned or threatened to resign amid allegations that the ranks of the 120 candidates had been cut down to 30 by organizers (a claim the MUO denied); social media in various participating countries went ballistic with racist slurs plus the hashtags #RiggedMU and #FireNawat. Two days before the finals, Gabrielle Henry (Miss Jamaica) was severely injured after falling off the stage in the preliminary evening gown round (she’s still in a hospital in Thailand).