Who knew the Miss Universe competition could be so rife with drama? The international pageant formerly associated with Donald Trump is wrapping up this week in Bangkok, where women representing 130 countries are competing for the crown. The televised ceremony is airing on Thursday night (U.S. time), but the competitors have been gathered in Bangkok for three weeks, and the lead-up has been plagued by mishaps.
The latest one happened on Wednesday, when, while walking the runway during the preliminary evening-gown competition in a sparkling orange gown, Miss Jamaica, Gabrielle Henry, fell off the edge of the stage and suffered what looked like a painful face-plant. In clips circulating online, she was seen being removed from the stage on a stretcher. Later, Miss Universe organization president Raúl Rocha shared on his Instagram feed that he’d visited Henry at the Paolo Rangsit Hospital, where she is recovering with her family at her side. A statement on Henry’s Instagram account said she did not have any “life-threatening injuries.”
View this post on Instagram
This is just one strange story line to emerge from the historic pageant this year. Earlier this month, Miss Mexico 2025, Fátima Bosch, led a walkout after a pageant executive chastised her during a Facebook livestream. And earlier this week, two judges and the president of the selection committee resigned. One of the judges, Claude Makélélé, cited “unforeseen personal issues,” while the other judge, Omar Harfouch, accused the organization of having an unofficial jury that preselected finalists without the official jury’s input. He also said that some of those unofficial jurors had personal relationships with the contestants. Representatives for the Miss Universe organization denied Harfouch’s claims, according to the BBC. But one of the new judges brought in to replace Harfouch and the others, Natalie Glebova, does appear to have ties to current contestants. Glebova, who was Miss Universe in 2005, has coached Miss Universe Canada 2025 winner Jaime VandenBerg, who is currently competing in Thailand.
Click here to preview your posts with PRO themes ››
The Cut has reached out to the Miss Universe organization for comment and will update this post if we hear back.
