New Troubles Dog Miss Universe Pageant as Judge Quits To Protest ‘Global-Scale Fraud’ at Contest

A Miss Universe judge who quit the scandal-plagued beauty pageant — claiming it is rigged — is now threatening to file a formal complaint with the attorney general of New York citing fraud, corruption, abuse of power, and other issues.The Lebanese-French composer Omar Harfouch announced this week that he was resigning in an Instagram post to his more than one million followers. He claims that a secret vote was held to pre-select 30 finalists out of the 136 contestants.“This vote was carried out by individuals who are *not official members of the jury*, myself included,” Mr. Harfouch stated. “To this day, no one knows who the selected 30 are, except one individual who holds the results.”Mr. Harfouch said that he could not pretend to legitimize the vote during the televised competition.“Some of the countries eliminated through this process could be at war, discriminated against, or geopolitically sensitive,” Mr. Harfouch stated. “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.”In a follow-up post, Mr. Harfouch says he has “officially consulted” with a leading law firm in New York — where the pageant is headquartered — to examine the potential filing of his complaint. He says he was misled and publicly used to give credibility to the compromised selection process.“The emotional trauma, reputational damage, and the significant time and energy I invested — especially in composing original music for an event that violated fundamental principles of fairness — are not negligible and will be included in the legal claims for *damages and compensation*,” Mr. Harfouch stated.Mr. Harfouch warned other judges that if they continue to participate in the competition they could be implicated in “an act of global-scale fraud” with legal consequences.The Miss Universe Organization refutes Mr. Harfouch’s claims. “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 in a statement. The organization suggested that Mr. Harfouch may have been confusing the selection of another judging committee of the Beyond the Crown Program, an independent social impact initiative.The organization claims Mr. Harfouch “expressed confusion” and gave a “public mischaracterization” of the program and said he was prohibited from referencing or associating himself with the pageant moving forward.Another judge quit the pageant hours after Mr. Harfouch. French football manager Claude Makélélé did not allege any wrongdoing but blamed “unforeseen personal reasons.”That leaves the pageant with only six remaining judges.The pageant endured another controversy earlier in November after Thailand director Nawat Itsaragrisil got into an insult-laden argument with Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch, at a pre-pageant event. He insulted her and called her “stupid.”Several contestants walked out of the event and Mr. Itsaragrisil was forced out of the pageant after his apology fell flat.The pageant made headlines this summer when it welcomed a Palestinian contestant for the first time in the international competition. A 27-year-old model, Nadeen Ayoub, was announced as a participant in the event being held this month at Pak Kret, Thailand.In October, the Miss Israel contestant, Melanie Shiraz, alleged Ms. Ayoub had “spread propaganda” about the war in Gaza, including suggesting that the youngest victims of the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were Palestinians killed by Israel.Ms. Shiraz, says she received death threats after a video spread on social media alleging that she gave the side-eye to the Palestinian contestant during a pre-pageant event last week.Ms. Shiraz says the video was deceptively edited and intentionally misleading. She posted a side-by-side video showing that she was standing well behind Miss Palestine and the momentary glance was not aimed at Ms. Ayoub.“The hatred and dehumanization that followed — including Hitler-related comments and a heightened security situation, over a brief, ordinary expression — reflect far more about the world than they do about me,” Ms. Shiraz wrote in an Instagram post.There was a leadership change at the pageant in October when Mario Búcaro was named as the new CEO. The former CEO, Anne Jakrajutatip, stepped down in June as she faced allegations of filing false or misleading financial documents on behalf of her company that purchased the pageant in 2022.

New Troubles Dog Miss Universe Pageant as Judge Quits To Protest ‘Global-Scale Fraud’ at Contest

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