Miss Universe Organization president breaks silence amid rigging allegations
Miss Universe Organization president Raul Rocha has addressed allegations of rigging after the pageant's 74th edition crowned Mexico's Fatima Bosch.
The international competition has been plagued with controversy after its coronation day on Nov. 21 in Impact Challenger Hall in Thailand. Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, a judge who reportedly resigned two days before the event, claimed that 24 hours before the finale, it was decided that Bosch would win as Rocha allegedly had business with her father.
On Nov. 19, judge Claude Makélélé also pulled out of the pageant due to "unforeseen personal reasons."
A third judge, Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, the president of the selection committee, also reportedly dropped out before coronation night, according to Harfouch.
Rocha, in a three-part statement, said that no judge resigned from the competition.
"The musician, whom nobody knew, turned out to be an opportunist, and anyone with good judgment can see how an unknown person tried to latch onto the fame of Miss Universe to gain followers," the organization president said without naming anybody, adding that he will take legal action against the individual.
Rocha, a Mexican businessman, added that the other two judges "did not resign." He did not elaborate on the matter "out of respect" for the individuals and the organization.
"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. I demanded that he stop involving third parties who have never claimed to have resigned because that is not the case, and the particular circumstances of each situation have nothing to do with this unfortunate musician’s intentions," he said.
He further emphasized that Miss Universe is a "100%" private organization that does not receive public funds or sponsorships from any public entity. Judges also do not receive any payment, but the organization pays for their expenses, Rocha continued.
Elsewhere in his statement, Rocha shared that the scoring for the competition is determined by the whole Miss Universe experience, not just by the final show.
"Living together for 20 days, 24 hours a day, inevitably leads to countless situations in which discipline, responsibility, professionalism, sisterhood, a spirit of service, and many other values must prevail, especially loyalty toward all other competitors," he said. "These, among other factors, are what the discipline committee takes into account, along with a private interview and later the judging panel’s evaluations."
"It is only logical to understand that it is impossible to determine who will represent the organization globally by observing and scoring just three hours of a show. Three hours onstage do not reflect all the qualities that, from my perspective with clear objectivity, the woman who represents us before the world must possess."
On links to Bosch's family
In another post in Spanish, Rocha addressed reports surrounding his company's (Soluciones Gasíferas del Sur) 745 million Mexican peso (~P2.3 million) contract in 2023 with Mexican oil company Pemex, where Bosch's father, Bernardo Bosch Hernandez, is a long-time employee.
"It is crucial to clarify that one of my companies officially acquired 50% of the Miss Universe Organization on January 29, 2024, and I assumed the presidency of that company almost a year after the awarding of the aforementioned contract," he said in Spanish, as translated by Google.
"During the period in which these negotiations took place... The bidder had no direct or indirect relationship with any member or executive of the Miss Universe Organization, much less with any member of the Bosch family," adding that he met the eventual winner's family two months before the Miss Universe Mexico pageant in September.
"Therefore, it is completely false and impossible that any relationship exists between the awarding of this contract and the contestant's victory in the 74th Miss Universe pageant, held on November 21, 2025, in Bangkok, given that two years and eight months elapsed between the date the contract was signed and the pageant," he claimed.
Tensions rose within the MUO during pre-pageant activities as Bosch and Miss Universe Thailand national director Nawat Itsaragrisil got into a confrontation after the latter reportedly called the beauty queen "dumb" for not following through with an obligation of the competition. Bosch walked out of the pre-sashing ceremony, with her fellow beauty queens doing the same.
Itsaragrisil has since apologized for his actions.
The 2025 pageant ended with Bosch as Miss Universe, Thailand's Praveenar Singh as first runner-up, Venezuela's Stephany Abasali as second runner-up, the Philippines' Ahtisa Manalo as third runner-up, and Côte d'Ivoire's Olivia Yacé as fourth runner-up.