Fátima Bosch Fernández from Mexico, a vocal opponent of bullying, has been named the 2025 champion.
The audience burst into applause and Fátima Bosch Fernández dabbed her eyes as she was announced Miss Universe 2025 on Friday in Bangkok.
This marked a stunning win for the 25-year-old Bosch in a competition often beset by scandal and disorder—arguably more than in a typical year.
Setbacks and disputes are nothing new for the famous beauty contest. Throughout its 74-year history, the Miss Universe pageant has faced criticism for numerous reasons, including revoking titles from contestants for being married or pregnant, severing relationships due to racist comments, mistakenly announcing the wrong victor (a memorable Steve Harvey moment!), accusations of bullying, and disputes involving international politics, among other instances.
Let’s set aside the ongoing discussion about whether beauty pageants are outdated or empowering.
What made this year particularly memorable? Oh, not much—just public humiliation, judges resigning, accusations of vote manipulation, alleged death threats, a walkout, fake drug use, and a contestant who was carried out of the competition on a stretcher.
Bosch takes a stand against bullying
During the livestreamed sashing ceremony for the more than 100 contestants on Nov. 4, Thai national director Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly berated Bosch for supposedly not adhering to his rules for participating in local promotional events. When she tried to speak up in her own defense, he called security.
Bosch exited the room, and several others joined her in a display of solidarity, including Miss Universe 2024, Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark.
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“What your director did is not respectful: He called me dumb,” a defiant Bosch told Thai reporters. “If it takes away your dignity, you need to go.”
Nawat maintained that he did not refer to her as “dumb.”
Raúl Rocha Cantú, the Mexican businessman who serves as president of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), issued a statement denouncing Nawat’s actions as “public aggression” and “serious abuse.”
Even Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, joined the criticism, telling reporters at a press conference in the nation’s capital that she wished to offer “recognition” to Miss Mexico for expressing her dissent in a “dignified” manner.
Nawat subsequently expressed regret for his behavior, appearing both emotional and unyielding simultaneously.
“If anyone [was] affected and not comfortable it happened, I am so sorry,” he told the contestants. He then faced them and remarked, “It’s passed. OK? Are you happy?”
Judges resign, one alleges voting was manipulated
Two judges stepped down from the pageant just days before the event, with one asserting that the competition was unfairly influenced.
Omar Harfouch, a Lebanese-French musician, revealed his withdrawal via Instagram, stating that “two days before the final, a secret vote was held to pre-select 30 contestants out of the 136.” He further contended that the selection process was conducted by individuals not officially part of the jury, and that he was excluded from the deliberations.
“I could not stand before the public and television cameras, pretending to legitimize a vote I never took part in,” Harfouch wrote.
Several hours later, a second judge withdrew. French football manager Claude Makélélé attributed his departure solely to “unforeseen personal reasons.”
On Tuesday, MUO released a statement claiming that Harfouch was mistaken and had “mischaracterized” his actual role, which involved judging for the Beyond the Crown program. According to MUO, this is a separate initiative that “operates entirely separately from the Miss Universe competition and from the official judging panel.”
The organization also issued a legal warning, stating it would take action if Harfouch continued to use any Miss Universe trademarks, service marks, logos, titles, or registered properties, “in any format, medium, or communication, whether digital, written, or verbal.”
Side-eye and death threats
This year, Nadeen Ayoub became the first-ever Miss Palestine participant, and she chose a gown decorated with a depiction of the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — two significant religious landmarks in Jerusalem.
Miss Israel, Melanie Shiraz, stated that she received death threats after being accused of giving Ayoub a hostile look during the competition. She explained to Fox News that the video allegedly showing her side-eye had been edited and was deceptive.
Shiraz stated, “The footage was clearly manipulated—edited, cropped, and spliced to create the false impression that I was the only person looking in that direction.”
She added, “My social media accounts were flooded with hateful remarks and video clips that made it appear as though I was standing directly beside her.”
Fake drugs?
Indeed, one of the controversies centered on counterfeit, rather than genuine, drugs.
Earlier this month, Chilean Miss Universe contestant Inna Moll shared a now-removed video in which she humorously mimicked snorting white makeup powder from her arm, accompanied by Shakira’s song “Addicted to You.”
She later issued an apology, claiming in a Spanish-language video that the idea originated with her makeup artist, as reported by People magazine.
A Canadian coaching controversy
Well, to some extent.
But recall the two judges who resigned? One of their substitutes was Canadian Natalie Glebova, who won the Miss Universe title in 2005. People magazine highlighted that Glebova has mentored several contestants — among them Jaime VandenBerg, who was competing for Canada at the event.
On Glebova’s official website, VandenBerg commended her coaching, writing Glebova “transformed my mindset into one of a winner.”
VandenBerg advanced to the top 30 finalists, but was eliminated when the top 12 were revealed.
Miss Jamaica takes a tumble on stage
The last slip-up we’ll highlight was a physical one.
Miss Universe Jamaica, Gabrielle Henry, tumbled from the stage on Wednesday while participating in the preliminary evening gown round. In footage circulating on social media, Henry is captured posing for the judges before moving to her left and stepping directly off the platform.
She did not sustain serious injuries, though she was pictured being carried out on a stretcher. An Instagram update from MUO’s Rocha confirmed she had no fractures but was kept in the hospital overnight for monitoring. She was absent from the competition the following day.
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