MANILA, Philippines – The 74th Miss Universe is perhaps the most memorable edition the global pageant has seen in recent years. 

For one, it was the first edition that saw Palestine send a representative, with 27-year-old Nadeen Ayoub even notching a Top 30 finish. The Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo also finished as third runner-up, which was the highest placement the country has seen in the last three years. This, among other things, made it make sense why Miss Universe 2025 was touted as the most-viewed edition of all time. 

But historic firsts aside, it’s the seemingly never-ending controversies that surround the pageant, some of its contestants, and the people behind it that got people to tune in to Miss Universe 2025. 

It all started with several candidates walking out of the sashing ceremony, which led to Miss Grand International (MGI) founder Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly reprimanding Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch for not participating in a sponsor shoot for Thailand, and calling her a “dumbhead.” 

Even after Bosch was crowned Miss Universe 2025 (in controversial fashion), the issues the pageant was facing only continued to grow. Here’s a rundown of the new developments that have plagued the prestigious pageant. 

Miss Côte D’Ivoire’s Top 5 finish and eventual resignation

One of the pageant’s clear frontrunners was Miss Universe Côte D’Ivoire Olivia Yacé — whom viewers from across the globe had been rooting for. From the get-go, she made clear her philosophy on embracing your identity, which she further solidified during the Top 5 question-and-answer portion. 

Yacé ended up being named 4th runner-up despite her strong showing in the Q&A round — leading fans to claim that she was “robbed” of the Miss Universe title.

On November 24, just days after Miss Universe 2025 festivities had wrapped up, she announced her resignation from the title of Miss Universe Africa & Oceania, citing the need to stay true to her personal values and guiding principles. 

The 27-year-old Ivorian stunner also relinquished future affiliations from the Miss Universe organization (MUO), and circled back to her answer in the Q&A round: “As I stated on stage, it is my greatest wish to be a role model for the new generation, especially young girls. I encourage them to push their limits, to walk confidently into rooms where they believe they do not belong, and to proudly embrace their identity.” 

A day after her resignation, MUO president Raul Rocha — who had acquired the stake in January 2024 — came forward in a livestream to claim that it was Yacé’s “weak passport” that led to her loss. 

“She’s going to be the Miss Universe who spent a whole year in an apartment because of the cost of the visa process with lawyers,” Rocha was quoted as saying, later adding that this would make things difficult if she were to become a Miss Universe titleholder, as she would be required to travel frequently throughout her reign. 

According to the 2025 Passport Index, those with Ivorian passports can enter 29 countries visa-free. Ivorians are required to secure visas for 133 countries, while there are 35 countries they must get visas for upon arrival. All this gives it a passport power rank of 75. 

While Yacé did not directly respond to Rocha’s claims, she quoted Michelle Obama in an Instagram post the next day: “When they go low, we go high.” 

‘Rigged’ voting in Most Beautiful People category?

Miss Universe Palestine 2025 Nadeen Ayoub came forward with a striking revelation of her own. In a social media post on November 23, she bared that she had been leading in the Most Beautiful People fan voting category on the Miss Universe app, with Tanzania’s Naisae Yona trailing behind her with just 30 minutes left to go until voting closes. 

She then claimed that within two minutes, Yona overtook her with over 20,000 votes — something she said is “impossible” and “unrealistic unless done internally.” This was the only voting category that had remained open, with the winners in other categories already being named. 

“The voting just closed but I really had to say something. I have to stand up for myself just like I stand up for other people. As a Palestinian woman, I will stand up for what’s right. I will stand up [against] something that I see is wrong, whether it’s for myself or for others,” Ayoub said. 

“I just want to make something very clear, which is that this is not about the award. I’ve gotten the biggest crown. I’ve gotten the biggest prize by being Miss Palestine [and] by being the voice of my people and everyone’s voice that wants to speak up, that wants to see justice, that wants to see beauty and culture and all the beautiful things that I represented on the international stage. And so for me, I believe I’m already a winner. But when something does not seem right. It’s a time where we have to speak up,” she added. 

Rocha ‘fed up,’ wants to sell Miss Universe franchise

On November 24, Rocha had then spoken with Adela Micha of the Mexican news outlet La Saga, where he had implied that he wanted to sell his stake at Miss Universe after the slew of non-stop controversies began to surround the pageant’s 74th edition. 

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“It’s just that I’m so fed up. I’m so fed up with all the talk. I don’t lend myself to that kind of thing,” he said, according to a translation from PEOPLE. “They want to come and tell you what decisions you make, how you make them, why you hire people, why you take away people and why you add people.” 

Rocha then issued several clarifications on his own social media pages. He said that no judge had actually resigned, days after Lebanese artist Omar Harfouch claimed he stepped down as a judge after allegedly finding out the pageant’s results were already pre-determined. The MUO president referred to Harfouch as an “opportunist.” 

Days after Harfouch’s alleged resignation, another judge — professional football player Claude Makelele — also announced that he would not be able to attend the pageant in a now-deleted Instagram post. Rocha, however, sought to make it clear that Makelele did not resign. 

“The entire circus surrounding their supposed resignation was created falsely, once again, by the pseudo-musician for his own benefit, knowing that with his poor and limited career, he would not receive media attention otherwise,” Rocha wrote. 

Rocha being investigated for drugs, arms trafficking

Things eventually took a turn for Rocha after Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office announced on November 26 that the MUO president would be investigated for alleged drugs and arms trafficking and fuel theft. 

Mexican police issued a statement on the matter, and said that it has already issued 13 arrest warrants. However, it did not name the individuals involved. 

Rocha himself has yet to speak up on the issue. 

Pointing fingers in Miss Jamaica’s serious fall 

On the same day that the allegations against Rocha blew up, Miss Haiti Melissa Sapini came to the fore with a new revelation about Miss Jamaica’s serious fall. 

Sapini alleged in an interview with PEOPLE that an MUO staff member blamed Henry for her own fall, and proceeded to say that it happened because “she wasn’t paying attention.” 

Henry currently remains in the ICU in a Thai hospital to seek treatment for her fall. According to PEOPLE, she is being accompanied by her sister, Dr. Phylicia Henry-Samuels. 

R’Bonney Gabriel’s social media following grows after Rocha’s negative comments

Miss Universe 2022 and regular host R’Bonney Gabriel was not exempt from Rocha’s wrath. He was quoted as saying in a viral video on November 26 that Bosch had gained three million followers in just a week following her victory, yet R’Bonney still only had 800,000 followers years after she was crowned. 

While the Filipino-American beauty queen expressed dismay over being measured by her social media following, pageant fans rallied behind her, and in just over 24 hours, she already had 1.2 million Instagram followers. 

“In less than 24 hours, yall got me to 1 MILLION followers! It was never about the numbers, but people have looked down on me just because of my social media follower count. Thank yall so much for supporting me,” she wrote. 

From Rocha’s statements to these bombshell revelations by contestants, it seems that there truly is no end yet to the controversies surrounding Miss Universe 2025. – Rappler.com