Miss Universe tension continues: MUO President announces lawsuit against Mr. Nawat

(Dan Tri) - Businessman Raúl Rocha, President of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), announced that he will sue Mr. Nawat Itsaragrisil, representative of the host organization of this year's contest, after he made offensive statements about a Mexican contestant.

The incident broke out on November 4, considered the biggest scandal in the history of Miss Universe. According to international media, Mr. Nawat had disrespectful words towards Fátima Bosch, the representative of Mexico.

The incident caused the reigning Miss Universe and several contestants to leave the sash ceremony, causing the event to be disrupted.

Businessman Raúl Rocha (right) and Mr. Nawat Itsaragrisil (Photo: News).

Afterwards, Fátima Bosch spoke up to affirm that she had no regrets when responding to Mr. Nawat: “We are living in the 21st century. I am not a doll who only knows how to dress up and do what others want. I entered the contest to speak for women around the world .”

In response to the criticism, Mr. Nawat issued an online apology to the contestants and denied any personal conflict. However, this move did not calm the situation.

MUO President Raúl Rocha immediately criticized and announced the limitation of Mr. Nawat's authority within the framework of the competition: "Unfortunately, Mr. Nawat forgot that he was only the host unit. I asked to limit his participation to a minimum, or completely remove him from the main activities."

Mr. Rocha also emphasized that MUO's top priority is safety, respect and transparency for all candidates.

The Miss Universe 2025 pageant is still taking place normally amid the noisy lawsuit (Photo: MU).

At the event on November 6, Mr. Nawat appeared emotional, saying that he had invested more than 6 million USD in this year's contest and affirmed that he always had the right attitude, not interfering deeply with the organizing team or contestants.

However, tensions continued to escalate when, during the opening ceremony of the 2nd World Mariachi Congress on November 7, Mr. Raúl Rocha revealed that he had authorized MUO CEO Mario Bucaro to go to Thailand to work with lawyers to initiate litigation proceedings.

“Mr. Nawat’s apology is not enough. To protect the value and dignity of women, we are forced to act,” Mr. Rocha said, confirming that a lawsuit had been filed.

The series of scandals has made the Miss Universe 2025 pageant the focus of global media. Many former beauty queens and beauties have criticized Mr. Nawat's actions, demanding respect for the contestants.

Huong Giang is leading the vote for Favorite Contestant at Miss Universe 2025 (Photo: MU).

Recently, MUO also canceled the results of the "Top 10 Special Dinner and Chat" voting launched by the Miss Universe Thailand Organization (MUT), because it considered this an illegal activity, outside the framework of the contest. Notably, the representative of Vietnam - Nguyen Huong Giang - was once on this list.

The Miss Universe 2025 pageant is taking place in Thailand, with 122 contestants participating. The final is scheduled to be held on November 21.

Huong Giang - the first transgender contestant from Vietnam and Asia in this arena - is currently attracting special attention from international audiences. She is in the top 3 of the People's Choice vote in the contest. This voting will end on November 19.

According to the announcement of the Organizing Committee, the contest will go through the following rounds: Private interview, swimsuit performance, national costume performance, evening gown performance. These rounds will decide the top 30, top 10, top 5 and the title of Miss.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/cang-thang-hoa-hau-hoan-vu-chua-dung-chu-tich-muo-tuyen-bo-kien-ong-nawat-20251108121343255.htm