Who is the new Miss Universe 2025 that has sparked such outrage?

On November 21, the Miss Universe 2025 finals officially took place in Thailand, featuring 123 contestants. After several rounds of competition, the beauty from Mexico, Fatima Bosch, became the owner of the prestigious crown. The first runner-up was the representative from the host country, Thailand, while the second, third, and fourth runners-up were from Venezuela, the Philippines, and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively.

Before the finals, the new Miss Fatima Bosch was considered a strong candidate for a high achievement at Miss Universe 2025 by beauty forums and audiences alike. However, her victory did not sit well with the beauty fan community.

On social media platform X, many who watched the Miss Universe live expressed that Fatima Bosch was crowned amidst boos from the audience. Numerous netizens opposed Fatima Bosch’s win due to her involvement in drama regarding non-cooperation with the host country’s organizers.

Furthermore, her achievement was questioned as being facilitated for her to win. The chairman of Miss Universe, Raul Rocha, is also from Mexico, and before the finals, he declared, “Mexico can win.”

Additionally, during the crucial Q&A segment of Miss Universe 2025, Fatima Bosch was not the contestant who answered the best; the representative from Côte d’Ivoire received higher praise in this segment.

After Fatima Bosch’s crowning, Mr. Nawat, the national director and head of the organizing committee, posted two consecutive stories with black backgrounds, implying unfair results at Miss Universe 2025. On his personal page, Mr. Nawat expressed his frustration, writing: “There are countless things I want to say but cannot,” and “I have done my best.”

The moment Fatima Bosch was crowned

Having surpassed 123 contestants, Fatima Bosch became the new Miss Universe.

The Mexican beauty could not hide her emotions, tearing up as she was crowned with the prestigious tiara.

The new Miss, who was a strong candidate for the crown from the start of the competition, got embroiled in drama regarding non-cooperation and was suspected of being orchestrated for victory.

According to Thairath, 24-year-old Fatima Bosch comes from a family with a mother and aunt who both competed in provincial beauty pageants in Mexico. Besides her beauty, Fatima Bosch also has an impressive educational background.

She graduated in Clothing Design and Fashion from Iberoamericana University and later continued her studies at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan and Lyndon Academy in Vermont (USA). With a passion for fashion, she launched her own clothing brand. According to Miss Universe 2025, she experienced bullying during her childhood.

Due to her difficulties with movement and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), she was bullied and isolated by her classmates.

At Miss Universe 2025, Fatima Bosch had a unique and dramatic journey to the crown. During the official sash ceremony for the contestants on November 4, Fatima Bosch was publicly called out by Mr. Nawat, the national director and head of the organizing committee, who confronted and scolded her for not posting advertisements for sponsors on her personal page.

Upset by Mr. Nawat’s actions, Fatima Bosch stood up and walked out, despite his loud warning that she would be disqualified from the competition.

Later, Fatima Bosch boldly exposed Mr. Nawat’s disrespect towards contestants and the audience in front of the media: “He called me stupid just because I had issues with the Miss Universe Mexico organization. I think that is unfair and very rude. I have always behaved properly, trying to show my best abilities, but I did not receive corresponding recognition.”

After the loud argument with Mr. Nawat, Fatima Bosch posted a message: “No matter how big your dreams are or how much you hope to wear the crown, if something takes away your dignity, have the courage to walk away.”

Her strong stance against Mr. Nawat garnered attention from the international beauty fan community. In a short time, Fatima Bosch gained an additional million followers on social media, becoming the most influential contestant in this year’s Miss Universe. However, she still faced significant backlash.

The photo circulating on social media featuring Mr. Raul and Miss Universe 2025 is false information.

The image has been manipulated by AI from two separate photos of them. However, their relationship continues to cause a stir due to its excessive intimacy.

A resigned Miss Universe judge has alleged the results of the just-concluded pageant were rigged.

COURTESY: OMAR HARFOUCH/INSTAGRAM, MISS UNIVERSE/INSTAGRAM

On social media Friday, Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, a Miss Universe judge who resigned two days before the coronation event, called the pageant’s winner Fatima Bosch a “fake Miss Universe.”

“I Omar Harfouch declared yesterday exclusively on the Americain HBO, 24 hours before the Miss Universe final, that Miss Mexico would win—because Miss Universe owner Raúl Rocha is in business with Fatima Bosch’s father,” Harfouch said.

In his social media post, Harfouch narrated how “a week ago in Dubai,” Rocha and his son “urged” him to vote for Bosch “because they need her to win ‘because it will be good for our business,’ they said to me!”

Harfouch is one of two Miss Universe judges who resigned two days before the coronation event.

On Instagram, he announced his resignation, saying “a *secret vote* was held to pre-select 30 contestants out of the 136.”

Harfouch added, “This vote was carried out by individuals who are not official members of the jury, myself included. To this day, no one knows who the selected 30 are, except one individual who holds the results. This same person is affiliated with a national organization of a participating country — which is a clear conflict of interest.”

According to Harfouch, “I could not stand before the public and television cameras, pretending to legitimize a vote I never took part in. Some of the countries eliminated through this process could be at war, discriminated against, or geopolitically sensitive.”

He added viewers would assume the jury made these decisions “and I cannot bear responsibility for a process I did not participate in. Pretending otherwise would be dishonest.”

Shortly after his resignation, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) released a statement, saying “His comments incorrectly suggested that an unauthorized or impromptu jury had been formed and that the official judges had been excluded from the selection of finalists.”

“The Miss Universe Organization firmly clarifies that no impromptu jury has been created, that no external group has been authorized to evaluate delegates or select finalists, and that all competition evaluations continue to follow the established, transparent, and supervised MUO protocols,” it said.

MUO acknowledged his resignation and said Harfouch is not allowed to use, display, or reference himself with the pageant’s trademarks.

In its statement, MUO clarified the Beyond the Crown initiative “operates entirely separately from the Miss Universe competition and from the official judging panel.”

Apart from Harfouch, French football manager Claude Makélélé also resigned due to “unforeseen personal reasons,” he said on Instagram.

“This was a difficult decision, as I hold Miss Universe in the highest regard. The platform represents empowerment, diversity, and excellence — values I have always championed throughout my career,” he said, apologizing to the pageant, the contestants, and everybody involved “and I hope to be able to contribute in the future under better circumstances.”

Miss Universe 2025 has been mired with controversies, with Bosch caught in the center of it all.

At the start of the competition, Miss Universe Thailand (MUT) posted a video where MUT National Director Nawat Itsaragrisil was seen calling security after an exchange with someone off-screen.

The official social media accounts of Miss Universe Mexico soon issued a statement saying what happened to Bosch was “unacceptable.”

Nawat apologized, before the MUO restricted his participation.

Bosch won the coveted crown, with Phiilippine bet Ahtisa Manalo finishing as 3rd runner-up.