The judge of the Miss Universum competition resigned days before the start of the competition and made strong claims about the organization.
The Miss Universe competition has found itself in the middle of a new uproar just before the start of the competition. Finland is represented by Sarah Dzafce. RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Miss Universe judge Omar Harfouch has resigned from his employer only days before the start of the competition. The competition is scheduled to be held on November 21 in Thailand.
Harfouch claimed on Tuesday Instagram– in their stories, that 30 finalists had been secretly chosen from among 136 contestants even before the judges voted.
According to him, it was an unauthorized group that had personal connections with certain competitors. Harfouch claims that there was also a person in the group who was responsible for counting the votes and processing the results.
According to Harfouch, none of the eight members of the real jury were in the group. Instagram stories are visible 24 hours after publication.
– The results of this selection will be kept secret, the ex-judge wrote.
Pictured is Omar Harfouch with his wife Yulia Harfouch at the Cannes Film Festival in spring 2025. PDO
Harfouch said that he had informed the Miss Universe committee that he was against the preliminary selection in question. According to the ex-judge, the committee “rushed” to publish on Instagram a list of names that were involved in the selection process, but did not explain the people’s real roles.
According to Harfouch, he tried to discuss the lack of transparency of the voting process with the CEO of Miss Universe Raul Rochan with, but the end result was a disrespectful conversation. That’s when Harfouch decided to resign.
– I refuse to be part of this pretense, the ex-judge said.
On the same day, the Miss Universe organization published Instagram-a statement on its account denying Harfouch’s claims.
– The Miss Universe organization clearly emphasizes that no spontaneous jury has been established, that no outside group has been authorized to evaluate contestants or select finalists, and that all competition evaluations continue to follow the organization’s established, transparent and controlled MUO protocols, the statement reads.
– In consideration of Mr. Harfouch’s confusion, his public misrepresentation of the pageant, and his stated desire not to participate, Miss Universe respectfully accepts his withdrawal from the official judging panel, the release added.
One competitor says anonymously People-magazine, that the claims of secret selection are heartbreaking. He says that the contestants found out about the rumor just moments before they went on stage for the final rehearsals of the pre-qualification.
– Many contestants have sacrificed their personal lives, left their jobs and spent a year preparing for this moment. Some of us have gotten sick, been hospitalized, or persevered through exhaustion sleeping only three or four hours a night. We did this because we believed in the integrity of this organization and the mission they said they stood for, the competitor says.
– How can you demand excellence from women who have given everything, when transparency is not given in return? One of the tasks of the organization is to fight for equality, but how can you fight for equality when we are not equal? he adds.
The Miss Universe competition is said to have selected 30 finalists through an unofficial group even before the jury’s official vote. PDO
The Miss Universe pageant was previously in the middle of an uproar, when Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch said that he was representing the Thai competition organization Nawat Itsaragrisilin for inappropriate behavior towards him.
Later, People magazine published a video and a report in which it is said that Itsaragrisil really called Bosch a fool at the organization’s event and demanded verbal confirmation from Miss that he would be ready to publish updates from Thailand.
In the end, Itsaragrisil ended up calling in the guards and evicting Bosch from the event. According to People, the situation caused several contestants to walk out of the event with Bosch as a sign of protest.
Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch said at the beginning of November that she received inappropriate treatment from a representative of the Thai pageant organization. PDO
Sources: New York Post