November 5, 2025
BANGKOK – On the third day of the Miss Universe 2025 pageant, the tension within the organization further escalated after controversial exec Nawat Itsaragrisil called out the candidate from Mexico that prompted her walkout while sympathetic candidates followed suit.
The seeming power struggle in the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), particularly between its president, Mexican Raul Rocha, and Nawat further escalated and have apparently began to affect the delegates who are caught in the middle.
Nawat, who has acquired the Miss Universe Thailand franchise, is the head of the host country’s organizing committee tasked to promote the pageant and mount the coronation night scheduled on November 21.
The Thai mogul is the founder and president of a rival beauty pageant, the Miss Grand International, but his company was able to buy shares in the company of MUO’s erstwhile CEO, Anne Jakrajutatip, that earned him the right to indirectly have shares in the global tilt and become its VP for Asia and Oceania.
In a video livestreamed by Miss Universe Thailand, some of the participants in this year’s competition were filmed storming out of a hall at their hotel residence in Bangkok while Nawat was speaking. The walkout incident happened on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 4, just as they were about to start the sashing ceremony.
During the streaming, Nawat could be seen asking for Miss Mexico, 24-year-old Fatima Bosch, to stand up. He then confronted her for not taking part in a sponsor shoot while agreeing to be filmed by Telemundo.
Several accounts claimed the Mexican bet argued back, but that Nawat supposedly did not appreciate her reply and told her to be quiet, or leave the room. Bosch then made her choice and stormed out of the hall, prompting other delegates from Latin America to do the same.
Upon seeing that many of the ladies started to leave their seats, including non-Latina candidates, Nawat immediately shouted on the microphone, “Stop, stop! Get security.”
This, however, failed to deter the delegates. Nawat, now not visible in the camera, said, “Sit down. If anyone wants to continue the contest, sit down. If you step out, … will continue.”
Another Miss Universe Thailand video showed Nawat talking to the rest of the delegates who remained inside the hall. Miss Bonaire Nicole Peiliker-Visser asked if they could call their sister-delegates back inside, citing the language barrier as possible reason for the outburst.
Nawat agreed to bring back those who stepped out, except for Bosch, “because she’s always talking too much with my team. Let her come back if she wants.”
A Missosology live video on social media taken from outside the hall also caught reigning Miss Universe Victoria Kjær Theilvig stepping outside, wearing her official crown and sash, and leaving the hall along with the Latin American delegates. Sources said the Danish queen also voiced her disapproval of what had just transpired.
The pageant portal also reported that a staff member drew a list of the names of the countries whose representatives walked out on Nawat, and those who still stayed inside the hall.
Several other delegates from Asia and Africa also joined Bosch. Eventually, most of the girls who walked out on Nawat were reported to have returned and went back inside the hall.
The “sashing ceremony,” where the delegates are set to receive their official country or territory sashes, will reportedly push through as planned later in the afternoon. Only Theilvig will put the sashes on the participants.
It still is not clear whether the incident during the afternoon’s event will have any implication on the outcome of the competition. But Rocha had released a statement earlier, enumerating four stages of evaluation–personal interviews, national costume presentation, evening gown presentation, and swimsuit presentation.
Earlier, MUO did not grant Nawat access to the main pages of the Miss Universe pageant on the heels of their online spat over the Thai exec’s online poll for a supposed special dinner, an event that the organization deemed “unauthorized.”
The tension between Nawat and MUO was further fueled when Rocha sent his own makeup team to Bangkok even as the Thai committee had already chosen a makeup sponsor to handle the requirements of the entire competition season.
Nawat also called the Thai Police to seize materials bearing the name and logo of a Filipino online gaming platform, which the MUO brought in as the pageant’s “official journey partner.” Casinos are illegal in Thailand.
Theilvig is set to relinquish her crown to her successor at the end of the competition that will be held at the Impact Challenger Hall in Nonthaburi, northwest of Bangkok, on Nov 21.
More than 120 delegates from different countries and territories around the world are competing this year. Pageant veteran Ahtisa Manalo hopes to post the Philippines’ fifth Miss Universe victory. /edv