Is Miss Universe Rigged?

The Miss Universe competition is a very influential competition and many people think it is important for society. However, is it possible that it’s rigged and corrupt? 

Two judges have quit this year and claim that the judging system is rigged and that it needs to be reformed. They claim that the judging is unfair and is biased. Omar Harfouch quit and claimed the competition was a charade and lacked transparency. Then a few hours later a second judge also posted on instagram that he would not be at the competition and would be withdrawing as a judge. Claude Makélélé stated that he held the competition in the highest regard which made this a very difficult decision. 

When Omar Harfouch quit he claimed that there was a second jury who made the actual choices and the panel of judges that was broadcasted to the world actually had no power or jurisdiction over the decision. 

This opens the competition to bribery and corruption which is very harmful to the image of the Miss Universe competition. “The Miss Universe Organization, in a statement, denied the existence of a second set of judges. “All competition evaluations continue to follow the established, transparent and supervised MUO protocols,” (Zhuang) it said, but refused to comment further upon the New York Times request. This refusal could contribute to people's beliefs that these former judges' claims are true and that the system is not what the public believes it is. One Harborfields student stated that “Without knowing who the judges are how can we know how they will vote?” which shows the uncertainty this revelation creates. 

Picture of candidates

Do you believe the competition is rigged by a second set of secret judges that control the Miss Universe Competition?

Works Cited

Zhuang, Yan. “Two Miss Universe Judges Resign before Finale, Deepening a Crisis.” The New 

York Times, 19 Nov. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/world/asia/judges-resign-miss 

-universe.html.