MISS Universe has turned into MESS Universe!
Thanks to my friend, Wassim for coming up with the "MESS Universe" line and you will remember in my first round prethoughts that I described the entire year of pageantry for Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for 2025 as a mess and we also know that the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageant which haven't been under the Miss Universe Organization umbrella since 2021 technically had a transfer of ownership from Laylah Rose to Thom Brodeur which was also messy as Laylah seemed to not even know that the directorship had been taken from her and handed to Thom in a period where it looked like Miss USA and Miss Teen USA wouldn't happen this year with 8 states that were left directorless after numerous state directors dropped out during Laylah's tenure and these states had delegates selected through an open casting but Miss USA and Teen USA came together well under Thom's team but the trouble seems to be coming from the top as The Miss Universe Organization is in trouble too as wealthy Thai transwoman Khun Anne (Jakkaphong/Andrew) Jakratutatip who bought the Miss Universe Organization from IMG (who obtained ownership of Miss Universe in 2015 following Donald Trump announcing his run for U.S. president making negative comments about Mexicans and almost derailing the 2015 Miss USA pageant in the process and Trump owned the Miss Universe pageant since 1996 with co-ownership from NBC in 2003) and saw the 2023 Miss Universe pageant under Anne's control lost many employees along the way including longtime MUO president, Paula Shugart and before her, temporary CEO, Amy Emmerich to resign and then Khun Anne's company JKN Global had to file for bankruptcy protection leaving Anne selling almost half her share in the Miss Universe Organization to Mexican businessman, Raul Rocha Cantu who has been involved with the pageant in recent years and his Legacy Holdings company was largely responsible for the 2024 Miss Universe pageant being held in Mexico. Now, it seems like the owner has rewarded his country with the crowning of Mexico's Fatima Bosch as the new Miss Universe or perhaps due to the company's financial situation may have thought it easier to simply crown the delegate already based in Mexico to avoid having to bring in someone from another country. Cote D'Ivoire's Olivia Yace who placed as 4th runner up to the shock of many and as Africa's highest ranking delegate was named the Queen of Africa/Oceania but Olivia decided to relinquish her title as the continental queen of Africa/Oceania prompting Raul Rocha Cantu to post that the titleholder is required to travel often, and he claimed this would be made difficult by the fact that Côte D'Ivoire passport holders require visas to enter 175 countries. He supposedly knew that she didn't have a visa necessary for worldwide travel but he seems to have dug the hole even deeper as many people have pointed out that Olivia Yace studied in Pennsylvania, USA and therefore has a U.S. passport and Olivia is even the daughter of a diplomat in her home country. All of this is prompting my friend Michael to dub Raul Rocha Cantu as Raul Rocha Cantudoanythingright? Olivia is well-known in the pageant world as previously placing as 2nd runner up at Miss World 2021/22 and the other Miss World runner-up competing for the 2025 Miss Universe title, Guadeloupe's Ophely Mezino who placed as 1st runner up representing France at Miss World 2019 lashed out against Raul in an instagram post stating, "Did you steal the money of my Afro-Caribbean girls? Did you let them compete knowing they would never win this competition? Did you let them participate just to speak about diversity and inclusion? Do you even read our biographies when we submit all the visa information?" Estonia's representative, Brigitta Schaback also resigned following not placing at the 2025 Miss Universe pageant. After preliminaries, Brigitta made headlines after she expressed her anger that the preliminary judges asked about her marital status. The national director of Ghana and Guyana, Teri Brown-Walker has also resigned. The official Miss France organization may be next to go as Frederic Gilbert, president of the Miss France organization, expressed his dismay at what occurred during this pageant and warned them without clear explanations, they will consider not continuing with the Miss Universe France franchise but I'm sure that MUO would just find another director. For example, Denmark's director Lisa Lents who was responsible for selecting last year's winner, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig posted that she would not be selecting a 2025 representative for Denmark so the franchise was taken away from her and handed to Dubai-based Filipino entrepreneur, Josh Yugen who also directs Egypt, Bahrain, Pakistan and Sweden! The rest of the delegates must feel like pawns in an elaborate game of chess.
The problems with the pageant started early on with the eventual winner, Mexico's Fatima Bosch was singled out and berated by Thai producer, Nawat Itsaragrasil (during the sashing ceremony which occurred when the delegates first arrived in Thailand) due to Fatima not participating in a promotional shoot for Thailand but she claimed her director's team told her not to participate and other delegates also opted to not participated and Nawat called Fatima a 'dumbhead' and she left the room after speaking out saying she has a voice and many other delegates followed suit leaving the room but I can't help but wonder if this controversy was all planned as it did make the headlines necessary for publicity for the upcoming Miss Universe pageant and it almost seem like this Fatima and Nawat may have been in on this in the beginning to generate controversy turning into news coverage in North American media that otherwise wouldn't have happened so it may have also been to garner sympathy from the other delegates for the Mexican delegate to ease them about her upcoming win. Nawat later posted a crocodile tears post apologizing for his actions but people know his character as he is not only the new director for Miss Universe Thailand but he also runs the Miss Grand International pageant which he started in 2013 and he has had many issues with titleholders with the most recent being his 2024 Miss Grand International winner, India's Rachel Gupta who resigned and posted on social media how he would make mean comments about her weight and she claims he was the cause of her miserable reign. A lot of people feel that the Fatima/Nawat fight was an orchestrated plot and many people are debating and protesting Fatima's win as some feel that she gave significantly worse answers than the rest of the top 5 and didn't even look as good as the rest of the top 5. In this edition of Mess Universe, Miss Messico (as I have now dubbed Fatima) was not ranked highly in my predictions list (42nd place) as I felt that her make up at times looked almost clownish with dark red lipstick on her pasty skin and she has odd facial features like her nose and prominent jaw and a hefty body so I almost felt she was beast-like and was baffled as to how she won the Mexican title in the first place. I thought her performance in preliminaries was abysmal as she barely cracked a smile (and I noticed many other delegates didn't either during preliminaries. Were they truly happy to be there?) but obviously, many people were quick to call this a cooking show upon seeing the ingredients that led to this win and are calling foul play but but to some extent this sort of manipulation of results has always been a thing in pageants. Most companies won't employ a titleholder they may deem difficult to work with. I think in cases like with Miss USA 2006-Tara Conner who supposedly had a drug/alcohol issue during her reign (which I feel like was also orchestrated) and Miss USA 2010-Rima Fakih reportedly being late and participating in a pole-dancing competition prior to her reign but I have always felt that their controversy was part of the publicity. Vanessa Williams being dethroned as Miss America 1984 was somewhat of a different story after Penthouse magazine released nude photos of her she had taken prior to her reign and Miss America's organization at the time felt that it was bad for the pageant's image. 
The original winner of Miss Universe 2002-Russia's Oxana Fedorova also resigned when she became unwilling to make appearances and many attribute this to her interview with shock-jock, Howard Stern who dared to ask her degrading questions like, "Spit or swallow?" The trouble just keeps on brewing as just days after Fatima Bosch was crowned Miss Universe, both co-owners of the Miss Universe Organisation were hit with arrest warrants. Almost half of the organization is owned by Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha Cantú, who is under investigation for alleged drug, gun and fuel trafficking between Mexico and Guatemala which are accusations he denies. Mexico’s attorney general confirmed arrest orders for 13 people, including Raul Rocha who was also stripped of his title as honorary consul of Guatemala. The investigation against him alleges that he funneled illicit profits from fuel smuggling from Guatemala into his companies. There was also talk of Fatima's win being fueled by Raul Rocha Cantu having a business relationship with Fatima Bosch's father, Bernando Bosch Hernandez who worked for Pemex for 27 years but he has posted on social media that those allegations are false and that he only met Raul for the first time on September 13, 2025 when Fatima won the Miss Universe Mexico title. Three finals judges dropped out from the pageant: Omar Harfouch (who was also supposed to perform), Claude Makelele and Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie. Omar was most vocal about it saying that he knew prior to the pageant that Mexico would win and supposedly was told by Raul Rocha and his son that a Mexican win would be good for business. He posted a photo on his instagram of what appears to be Fatima Bosch hugging Raul Rocha long before the pageant leading to the speculation of the business relationship with Fatima's father so Harfouch resigned first, citing a makeshift jury (there was a different panel of judges for preliminaries with a few members reappearing in finals but this is not new in pageants but some of them were definitely responsible for some of the placements we saw. More on this later.) and conflicts of interest including the potential business ties. One of the judges who served as a substitute judge, Miss Universe 2005-Natalie Glebova of Canada said she voted for Miss Thailand to win and even commented on social media about the absence of the verified results being submitted to the hosts by accountants. Some pageants are likely predetermined as directors probably will not want to work with certain potential winners but it seems like it is almost too evident and the pageant is sadly losing credibility. As for the other partial MUO owner, Khun Anne Jakrajutatip, she also had an arrest warrant issued as she is accused of fraud by a plastic surgeon who claims she concealed key information while seeking their investment in her company, JKN Global Group. Jakkaphong failed to appear in court for the expected verdict on November 25, prompting the judge to deem her a flight risk and order her arrest. Khun Anne currently appears to be in hiding as her whereabouts remain unknown. 
She didn't even get a chance to tell us, "Goodbyeeeee, Universe!!!" And where's that Miss Universe beverage that if you drink it, you turn into Miss Universe???
You also may have noticed the absence of Albania and Jamaica's delegates during the final competition when both participated in preliminaries which brought the final number of delegates down from 120 to 118. Jamaica's Dr. Gabrielle Henry sadly had a serious fall in a hole on stage after preliminaries and had to be taken to a Thai hospital's Intensive Care Unit and sadly, she is there as of this commentary's posting on December 1, 2025. Albania's Flavia Harizaj was absent from the finals for unknown reasons.
Wnat does the future hold for our treasured Miss Universe pageant when it seems like the organization is imploding with the walls crumbling and all these issues? Even the noted czar of beauty, 79-year-old Osmel Sousa, who is largely credited for Venezuela's success in international pageantry, has left his post as an advisor with the Miss Universe Organization claiming he wanted to go back to Venezuela and be closer to his family and felt that he fulfilled his mission. Will Nawat Itsaragrasil play a more prominent role in the Miss Universe Organization and perhaps take it over? Or will a judge hand it over to someone else given all the legal troubles involved with both owners? Will Telemundo take ownership? Will Puerto Rico follow through on its commitment to host the 2026 Miss Universe pageant? 2025 has been an extraordinarily messy year so we shall see if 2026 shows any signs of promise. I'm just very concerned about the direction of my beloved Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants but we shall see what happens and let's get on to discuss the actual 2025 Miss Universe pageant itself!
Mexico has captured their fourth Miss Universe crown in 2025 and all I can say is that the powers that be made their powers known!
Mexico's fourth Miss Universe win succeeds her predecessors, Lupita Jones in 1991 who was Mexico's national director running the Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant from 1994 to 2023 when she was unceremoniously dethroned as Mexico's director for Miss Universe and her final delegate, Melissa Flores did not place at Miss Universe 2023 prompting Lupita to leave the audience. Lupita recently also posted on social media about the Legacy Holdings building in Mexico having the Miss Universe logo sign removed only for it to show up again with a lit background as the sign was just being replaced. Mexico would win again in 2010 with Ximena Navarrete and for 2020 with Andrea Meza who was also a judge for this year's Miss Universe pageant and a former Miss World 1st runner-up in 2017.
Despite his behaviour, Nawat Itsaragrasil did help produce a GRAND show (for lack of a better word) with a spectacular large stage and excellent lighting. Thailand served as host of the Miss Universe pageant for the fourth time this year in 2025 following 1992, 2005 and 2018 and there were many planned activities and special events and pre-event specials that highlighted the overall contest for the delegates and the viewing audience. The pageant itself however was difficult to watch during the week of as the national costume competition and preliminaries were geoblocked (not available in certain regions) on youtube after they aired and then watching the finals was a chore in itself as I know some people around the world didn't have a proper option to watch it and had to search online for livestreamers. Here in Canada, I had a watch party with friends and luckily, one of them knew about the free streaming apps indicated on the Miss Universe website's where to watch page, Fawesome and Plex (looks like the Roku deal was discontinued) so we watched it on Plex which could be pushed to my friend's TV. American viewers could watch the Spanish version on Telemundo so at least there is some traditional TV channel options but it looks like Miss Universe, USA and Teen USA's days on major network television are long gone sadly. I noticed that both the Fawesome version and the Youtube version had some altering/overlapping of some of Jeff Satur's song and other music used in the broadcast like in some of the tourism segments showing the delegates enjoying Thailand and having to overlap the music really pisses me off. Why can't these stupid streaming services just let songs be played? I know most people are okay with their songs being played/used in special events but I know royalties are a thing but I also know it's a rights issue thing but it's all just so ridiculous. Let songs be played properly and stop making people have to alter the music on their videos/livestreams to bypass your stupid rights issues and stop ruining our art. There I said it!!!
After an introductory montage featuring some of the delegates fanning themselves in Thailand, we saw the reigning Miss Universe, Denmark's Victoria Kjaer Theilvig looking stunning in a traditional Thai outfit greeting us with that famous wai gesture. This was followed by a performance from Thai singer, Jeff Satur (real name: Worakamol Satur) surrounded by Thai dancers dressed in traditional outfits performing his song "Passion Fruit" as the delegates paraded on stage and then introduced themselves saying their names too this time!!! They listened! It was smooth for the mostpart except Cote D'Ivoire taking a moment to giggle after an eruption of audience applause and getting overlapped by Croatia. This year might be a record of "C" countries placing actually as 8 of them (Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire, Croatia and Cuba-all of whom were in my list) placed in the top 30! Also, Guatemala said her name and country too soon and overlapped Guadeloupe but then Guatemala said her name again. It's interesting how the two Miss World runners-up competing this year (Cote D'Ivoire and Guadeloupe) both had their intros wrecked! Also, Slovenia was screenblocked out temporarily during her intro... Did she give the audience the finger or something?? Her possessed wild arm movements probably made the control room nervous so they probably blocked her for that reason. Jeff Satur concluded the introductions with his song "Ride or Die" and then we met our host, Steve Byrne. I had never heard of him before this pageant but he's an American comedian with an Irish father and Korean mother who gives him that more exotic look so that may be why they hired him but I was somewhat indifferent to him and especially his mispronunciations like "Cote Davreee! and GuadeloupAY!" and sometimes even just calling delegates only by "Miss" and I think he's not supposed to say "Miss Thailand" but just call them "Thailand" as her title is technically "Miss Universe Thailand" and this has been a thing since 1998 when I started this website and I remember then host Jack Wagner letting it slip and saying "Miss Ireland" instead of "Ireland" but remembering to not say "Miss" for a few of the delegates but yeah, it's all stupid, just let them call her "Miss Thailand or Miss Ireland," we're all used to that and I don't think anyone really cares that's not their official title anyway... The only exception here was the contestant "Miss Universe Latina" since "Latina" is not a country and inclusion of this delegate is a business gimmick to promote Telemundo's reality show to pick this contestant so I should have known she would place for business purposes. Steve Byrne posted on social media that despite begging to come back to host next year, Nawat apparently kept altering his script and taking his jokes out so that's probably why he came off somewhat bland and didn't really have much of a chance to shine so after all the pageant controversies came to light, he seems uninterested in participating ever again with Miss Universe. I liked Steve's improvisation of imitating the delegates catwalk though and it was a fun way to buy time while he waited for the top 12 card but no taking the Lord's name in vain while hosting a broadcast watched by a lot of Christians worldwide! The finals judges (that were probably just there for show but Natalie Glebova posted that their scores apparently accounted for 35% of the score but who knows if that's even true...) were: Natalie Glebova-Miss Universe 2005 who substituted for some of the judges that dropped out, Dr. Nok Chalida (better known to us pageant fans as Miss Thailand 1998-Chalida Thaochalee), Ismael Cala, Saina Nehwal [captioned as Nay-wal (facepalm)], Miss Universe 2020-Andrea Meza (pronounced Metza by Steve Byrne) and who also had a questionable win in her year when other members of the top 5 seemed to give better answers..., Sharon Fonseca, Miniyothabo (Minnie)Baloyi who was also a last-minute substitute and Louie Heredia (also a last-minute substitute). Even though the top 30 was called in random order, they competed in alphabetical order for the swimsuit competition but the gown competition featured the delegates called in the same order they were called into the top 12! Miss USA had each competition showcase the ladies in alphabetical order so I assume the reasoning for this is that it was easier to score alphabetically? But wait a minute, was there even any scoring??? The top 30 were announced in this order: India (India was called first reminiscent of 1994, 1996 and 1997 which were other years when India was called first), Guadeloupe, China, Thailand, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Rwanda, Cote D'Ivoire, Colombia, Netherlands, Cuba, Bangladesh, Japan, Puerto Rico, USA, Mexico, Philippines, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Malta, Chile, Canada, Miss Universe Latina, Croatia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Palestine, Nicaragua, France and Paraguay who supposedly won the online vote. We were then introduced to our color commentators, Miss Universe 2022-R'Bonney Gabriel of the USA and Miss Universe 1993-Dayanara Torres. Both have been taking on hosting duties lately but neither one has nearly the amount of zazz of past color commentators. Give me Daisy Fuentes anyday. I also loved the duos of Julie Moran and Ali Landry (who recently made an appearance at the Miss All-American pageant earlier this year) and I also loved Leeza Gibbons and Angela Visser. It pains me to think that we'll never enjoy that level of color commentating again. I guess I liked that R'Bonney and Dayanara reminisced about their years both being among the shorter contestants in their years but Dayanara might have said PueRRRRto RRRico a bit too much!
The continental queens were announced during the coronation ball after the pageant. The winners were: Americas-VENEZUELA, Asia-CHINA, Europe & Middle East-MALTA, Africa & Oceania-COTE D'IVOIRE. Special prizes handed out: Beyond the Crown - 1st place-PARAGUAY, 2nd place-NETHERLANDS, 3rd place-PHILIPPINES, People's Choice-PARAGUAY (I'm surprised that this award didn't go to Philippines or Bangladesh so this another suspicious thing about this pageant), Most Beautiful Skin-INDONESIA, Miss Photogenic-COSTA RICA, Miss Congeniality-TURKIYE/TURKEY. Shoutouts to 7 countries that placed for the first time ever in Miss Universe history: Cote D'Ivoire in top 5, Guadeloupe and Malta in top 12, Bangladesh, Miss Universe Latina, Palestine and Rwanda in top 30.
How did I do with my predictions? Well, I picked 21 of the top 30 plus 2 honorable mentions (Bangladesh and Miss Universe Latina). 9 of the semifinalists missed my list and four of them were in my next tier: Mexico-the eventual winner..., Dominican Republic, Paraguay(supposed winner of the online vote) and Rwanda but the 3 I missed entirely were: Guatemala (the country of the new MUO CEO, Mario Bucaro, hmmm....), Japan and Zimbabwe.
My 9 ladies that didn't place were: Turks & Caicos, Peru, Portugal, Indonesia, Ecuador (who placed top 5 at Miss USA 2016), Great Britain, Poland, Myanmar and Laos. What happened to my ladies that didn't place? Turks & Caicos sent us a stunner with Bereniece Dickenson Martinez who was a favorite amongst many pageant fans but this country has only placed once back in 1987 when Carmelita Ariza made the top 10 that year in Singapore so it's fairly common for this paradise of a country get ignored. Peru was an early favorite of mine and Karla Bacigalupo was compared to Katy Perry by my friend Michael and I liked her blue eyes and felt she was a standout so I was surprised to see her omitted. Portugal's Camila Vitorino was one fierce delegate with a commanding walk and stage presence and she is a mother of one son but she does have those prominent Portuguese hips so I guess these were factors working against her. Indonesia's Sanly Liu won the Best Skin award and had a gleaming white smile so I thought the 4th most populated country would get recognition this year but it was not to be. Ecuador's Nadia Mejia was formerly Miss California USA 2016 and made top 5 at Miss USA 2016 and is noted for being the daughter of Girardo Mejia who had a top 10 hit in 1991 "Rico Suave" and Kathy Eicher, Miss West Virginia USA 1989 but I guess her parents didn't have close enough connections to the powers that be like Cuba's uncle, Emilio Estefan who composed last year's Mexicana theme song for the 2024 Miss Universe pageant. I also feel like Miss USA crossovers like Nadia and even Haiti's delegate, Melissa Sapini despite doing well at Miss USA somehow get omitted at Miss Universe perhaps because they sound too American and not from the countries they are representing but there are exceptions like Cote D'Ivoire's delegate who sounded very American. Great Britain was one I adored. Her national costume presentation of her doing the onstage presentation doing a well-acted fall as Eliza Doolittle to do a reveal from the unpolished Eliza to the polished Eliza in "My Fair Lady" so I was really hoping to see Danielle in the mix as she was even a pageant director for Miss Earth Wales and Miss Global England but even with that extensive experience and excellent presentation, it was not to be. Poland's Emily Reng was hot with a great body and blonde hair but maybe not a fit for this pageant and she also probably sounded too American given that she is of Polish descent but was born in Chicago, Illinois and attends the University of South Carolina. Myanmar and Laos both sent a really great candidate with a superb body and polished overall look but my guess is a weakness in interview and perhaps not strong enough English may have led to their non-placements.
Inna Moll's a doll though and Chile now enjoys a 3-year streak in the semifinals so let's see if the land of the Andes can keep it going. Inna is well-known in her country already as a model since the age of 8 and an influencer with a popular YouTube channel and even Inna's mother, Ana Maria Bilbao competed for Miss Chile-World 1987 making the top 6 there but now Inna lived her and her mother's dream by getting to the Miss Universe stage. I was concerned Inna might be deemed a little on the petite side but making the top 12 was a formidable accomplishment. Up next was China's Na Zhao who was a very impressive candidate and I would love to see the now 2nd most populated nation in the world send more candidates like Na as she had lovely flowing hair and a fantastic body/walk and she presented divinely which was only enhanced knowing that she is well-educated as well. Colombia's Vanessa Pulgarin showing off that spectacular body and she had some calling her the winner but she had to settle for a top 12 position. Vanessa was originally first runner-up to Colombia's 2017 delegate, Laura Gonzalez who finished 1st runner up to Miss Universe 2017, South Africa's Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters and while Vanessa did not place at Miss International that year, she came back incredibly strong at age 34 with the age limit removed to win the right to represent Colombia on the Miss Universe stage fulfilling her dream and she didn't disappoint at all. The cards just didn't fall in her favor and sometimes that's just how it goes but Colombia has fared very well in recent years placing in 10 of the last 12 Miss Universe pageants with their most recent win being for 2014 with Paulina Vega. I actually loved the white one-piece swimsuit with the cut-out on the side. It reminded me of the white swimsuit that Manpreet Brar-Miss India 1995 was shown wearing during the 1995 Miss Universe parade of nations. Costa Rica followed and Mahyla has such a cute, lovely face but I knew her height would be a hindrance so this would be as far as she would go but I was happy that I picked her among my top 30 and that she placed because she was a beauty that was truly deserving. Cote D'Ivoire came out knocking us all on the floor with that pow-pow amazing body and that dynamic walk/presentation. As one of the few women to make top 5 at both Miss World and Miss Universe, Olivia gave an exceptional performance. Croatia's Laura Gnjatovic followed and was a definite standout being this year's tallest delegate standing at 6'3" so that amazing, athletic body combined with her gorgeous overall look got her in the mix but I was a smidge concerned about her interview skills as she is a nurse but I kept her in my top 30 list anyway and I'm very glad I did! We love to see the greatest treasure of middle Europe, Hrvatske doing well at Miss Universe! Cuba followed and of course, we expected this placement. Lina Luaces Estefan is a Cuban-Lebanese-American model born in Miami, Florida, USA to businessman Lorenzo Luaces Sr. and model and TV personality, Liliana del Carmen Estefan who is the niece of Emilio Estefan (of Miami Sound Machine fame/husband of famous singer, Gloria Estefan and a friend of owner Raul Rocha and the composer of last year's introductory "Mexicana" anthem for the 2024 Miss Universe pageant in Mexico). Lina revealed her story on social CubaEcuadormedia that she suffers from an incurable autoimmune disease called psoriasis which is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, often appearing on the knees, elbows, trunk, and scalp but she treated it naturally and holistically as she eliminated inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, sugar and alcohol and the symptoms disappeared. Call her a nepotism pick if you must but Lina did actually perform well in all aspects of the competition and has a great body to go with it. Dominican Republic and J-Ven does indeed have great abs but her overall look wasn't really to my taste as we've seen this country do a lot better so the land where your heart flames to the rhythms of merengue wasn't going any further this year. Next up was France's Eve Gilles who I dubbed "La Nouvelle Eve" named after a cabaret in Paris in which I won a dance competition in 2001 so I had a fond heart for Eve and everyone seemed fascinated with her distinct look with the short hair and she certainly knew how to work that body winning the very competitive official Miss France competition but that franchisee may not opt to participate in Miss Universe next year as discussed earlier due to the turmoil that the Miss Universe Organization is currently experiencing behind the scenes. I really liked Eve Gilles preliminary evening gown performance as she was the only one to wear hot pants which she revealed after removing the skirt of her gown and I considered it an homage to Miss Universe 1971-Lebanon's Georgina Rizk who sexily dared to also wear midriff-bearing hot pants and even answered her final question in French! France was followed by another French delegate, Guadeloupe's Ophely Mezino who represented France at Miss World 2019 placing as 1st runner up that year to Jamaica's Toni-Ann Singh. Ophely brought back that 70s-era diva style sporting an afro in the intro and during prelims but this time, she slicked it back into a bushy ponytail so you could focus more on that great body. Even when she was crowned Guadeloupe's Miss Universe representative, Ophely sported a hairdo that was reminiscent of the 70s queen of disco, Donna Summer so needless to say she worked hard for the money and we feel love for Ophely! And Donna! Guatemala followed in a pick that many considered skewed by the new MUO CEO, Mario Bucaro who is Guatemalan so if he stays in that position, the heart of the Mundo Maya probably will be more recognized in the future than it has been but this delegate was clearly facially challenged so she wasn't expected to advance to the next round. India followed and I knew Manika Vishwakarma would excel in interview which is typically expected of Indian contestants but I also knew she wouldn't advance past the swimsuit round as she just didn't have the right body type but her hair was nice, long and flowy. Japan followed and this one was definitely a surprise delegate. Mikimoto's not a sponsor, are they? Or are they trying to court Mikimoto to be a sponsor??? This placement made no sense to me and she obviously didn't advance so Sayonara, Dayanara! Oh, her name's Kaori?? Whatevs... But MALTA! All of the yes to this first placement for the heart of the Mediterranean!! We had clues about Julia Cluett clawing her way into the top 30 as she does have a great body and knew how to work it remarkably. I was concerned about a few moles/tattoos here and there but thankfully the judges/powers-that-be looked past that and let this great girl in the spotlight and allowed her to shine. Malta sent the previous oldest delegate ever last year, Beatrice Njoya who I Njoyed... and Beatrice competed at age 40 but didn't place but her record as oldest Miss Universe delegate ever was broken this year by Rwanda's delegate and Bonaire's delegate both competing at age 42. Julia was an impressive and worthy candidate. Mexico followed and despite what I consider a hefty body, she seemed confident with that on/off smile... like she knew she would win... Miss Universe Latina followed and unlike the Miss 52 USA title that lasted for one year in 2016 with a delegate going unplaced and us never seeing Miss 52 USA ever again, this novelty title may have some more staying power since it has a Telemundo-backed reality show (a la Nuestra Belleza Latina) behind it so I guess Miss Universe Latina is here to stay but of course, many debate the fairness of having a Latin-American delegate but not any other nationalities like African-American or Asian-American or even Caucasian-American!!! 
I hope I'm getting my point across as to how ridiculous this is but all in the name of business, right? There is big money in the ratings that the reality show like 'Miss Universe Latina, El Reality' produces so as long as the ratings come in, Miss Universe Latina will be in the competition. Yamilex Hernandez was a decent candidate with a standout body and walk as would be expected of a reality-show winner but I wasn't so sure facially about her but Yamilex also has a history of being runner-up to Dominican Republic's 2023 representative, Mariana Downing who notably once dated singer Marc Anthony who was once married to this year's color commentator, Miss Universe 1993-Dayanara Torres and fathered her two sons but Mariana Downing in 2023 didn't place whereas Yamilex did! But there was only a top 20 in 2023 but a top 30 this year so it isn't always the case but sometimes when a runner-up of a previous year's delegate competes, then they sometimes match that placement. Who comes to mind here? Puerto Rico's Ana Rosa Brito Suarez placed 8th in 1997 and then Ana Rosa's runner-up at Miss Puerto Rico, Brenda Liz Lopez also placed 8th in 1999 but Thailand's rep for this year, Veena Singh who was this year's 1st runner up at Miss Universe was also a runner-up to previous Miss Thailands that placed lower than that at Miss Universe so you really never know. One pageant's results can be completely different from the next. Netherlands' Natalie Yasmin Mogbelzada followed and this girl has a great face and a natural glow about her so I'm really glad I noticed her in preliminaries and put her in my list. Nicaragua followed and Itza continues the now 3-year streak in the semifinals succeeding the 2023 Miss Universe win of her compatriot, Sheynnis Palacios. Itza was a great overall candidate and I'm sure having a Nicaraguan judge, Denis Davila in the prelim judging panel certainly helped. Palestine's Nadeen Ayoub followed making a statement by participating in this pageant and wearing the only pantsuit swimsuit in the top 30 and she looked like a stuffed dumpling about to burst. I guess even the pantsuit with a train couldn't her hefty midsection and thick legs but you could see her moving the train to hide her legs on occasion but Nadeen is facially and intellectually strong so this placement was expected especially since she also previously placed as Miss Earth-Water (equivalent of 2nd runner up) at Miss Earth 2022. She was also born in the United States to Palestinian parents and even studied in Ontario, Canada. Paraguay followed wearing a pretty sinister look on her face... almost as if those rumors of her dating one of the prelim judges was true. Again, pointing out who won the online vote usually doesn't help them so I wasn't at all surprised that she didn't advance. Next up was Philippines' Ahtisa Manalo who is no relation to last year's Filipina representative, Chelsea Manalo. Ahtisa was actually named after her estranged father, a Finnish/Swedish man named Ahti and she has quite the storied pageant history, being the runner-up to Catriona Gray who won the 2018 Binibining Pilipinas pageant that sent Catriona on her path to later win Miss Universe 2018 leaving Ahtisa to be sent to Miss International 2018 where she finished as 1st runner up and Ahtisa would then place 2nd runner up at Miss Universe Philippines 2024 and be sent to Miss Cosmo 2024 where she made the top 10 and then despite a fall reminiscent of Miriam Quiambao who parlayed her fall into a 1st runner up placement at Miss Universe 1999, Ahtisa won Miss Universe Philippines 2025 and her experience really showed. I didn't necessarily think she had a top 12 body but she worked it well and she has a natural charm that likely helped her achieve high placements in the multiple pageants in which she has competed and I'm sure it didn't hurt to have Filipino sponsors, Jewelmer and Philippine Airlines for this year's Miss Universe pageant! Puerto Rico followed showing off that great body and walk presented with that Latina flair. Rwanda's Solange Tuyishime Keita followed making history as the oldest Miss Universe contestant ever so far competing at age 42 and also being the mother of triplet daughters and one deceased child and has an amazing of escaping the genocide in her country as a child and becoming a UNICEF ambassador. I did suspect this delegate would place as Solange lives in Canada and even competed in the Miss Universe Canada pageant so with former Canadian director, Denis Davila being a prelim interview judge, I'm sure this certainly helped Solange advance to the top 30 as she is quite accomplished and even received a distinguished honor, the Order of Ottawa in 2023. Thailand's Praveenar (Veena) Singh followed looking every inch the radiant, magnificent, naturally beautiful queen she is with that incredible long, lean body, flowing hair and stunning face. Oh, what could have been... USA's Audrey Eckert followed after winning her national pageant with less than a month to prepare in that now famous last-minute scramble to even have the pageant but the land of the free and home of the brave wouldn't dare go two years in a row without placing at Miss Universe! Audrey showed up looking extremely fit with those killer abs demonstrating why she won best in swimsuit at the 2025 Miss USA pageant and she arrived Universe-ready so kudos to her on a fine showing. Venezuela sent us Stephany Abasali who carried on the tradition of strong Venezuelan representatives at Miss Universe. Stephany was of a different breed though as she is of Syrian-Lebanese descent but was born in Venezuela on July 26, 2000 and coincidentally, Stephany's dignified manner of carrying herself and speaking reminds me a lot of the woman who won Miss Universe the year that Stephany was born which was India's Lara Dutta so I'm almost positive that Lara was very much an inspiration for Stephany. I actually think she was just okay body-wise and maybe was more fair-skinned than I was expecting but this was a formidable candidate as is normally expected of Venezuelans. Finally, Zimbabwe followed and this was another surprise delegate as this delegate did not have a body and I was actually surprised to see tattoos on her arms but this delegate must have excelled in interview to make top 30 or maybe the judges were relieved to get through those 120 delegate interview and ZImbabwe being last alphabetically probably made the judges happier and lazily upscored her? Hey, it happens! Oh yeah, did the judging even mean anything this year??
Now, it was time for the evening gown competition which was originally supposed to be set to a song by Omar Harfouch but with his last-minute dropout, we had a quick switch to an orchestral version of a song from the Miss Universe soundtrack that has been used since 2015 so it all worked out in the end and I actually liked that they incorporated this version of the song in this way. It's good for the brand! It's all about business. All of the delegates changed from their preliminary gowns so these contestants went all out this year... for nothing! Chile came out in a beaded magenta gown with blue beaded fringe hanging from the off-shoulder line and more blue beading at the base to create that gradient effect and in various parts of the gown with some illusion material at the legs. It was intricately designed and really brought out the Barbie-like nature of Inna Moll-the doll but I felt like her preliminary gown with the roses lining the train and how she did her reveal was several times more impactful than this finals gown. Colombia followed in a typical Colombian design with a tried and true tan/silvery gown with jewels from top to bottom and a slit revealing her left leg and it was nice but just seemed typical. Cuba followed in a more unique gown with pleated material starting under each breast and going over her shoulders like a cape with silvery-white beaded material from top to bottom and a diamond-shaped cut-out at the chest. It flared out nicely when she walked and there was exquisite detailing on the back as well. Guadeloupe followed in what I can only assume was a Universe-inspired gown with illusion material at the top and galaxial/star-like designs on the neck, breast, waist and skirt of the dress with dark blue and silver beading and she also sported the afro ponytail with some parts of the hair looking a bit out of place. Mexico came out wearing a long red-sleeved gown with a sheer red cape and gold designs from top to bottom. Red is a popular color for Mexican winners as Ximena Navarrete wore in red in 2010 as did Andrea Meza for 2020 but I consider Lupita Jones' gown in 1991 more orange but with some red beading on it. And again, the wrong lipstick color, the shade of red was too pale to match the gown but the shade she wore in prelims was too clownish. It's almost as if she chose Mexico's lucky color of red knowing she would win the whole time... Puerto Rico is a billowy, fluffy white gown that you just want to replace your bedsheets with! It had silver lines on the gown itself with diagonal patterns almost reminiscent of the gown Venezuela's Gabriela Isler wore when she won Miss Universe 2013. Zashely's gown was complemented with a fur-lined sheer white flowy cape and it was transcendent and screams, 'Come to bed with me!!!' Venezuela followed in a clearly Asian-themed ruby-red gown with gold dragons covering each of her shoulders which some might deem borderline costumey but I think it worked and she had her hair in an elegant bun and again I was reminded of Lara Dutta-Miss Universe 2000 also wearing a red gown and having her hair in a bun when she won. Venezuela's gown was apparently designed in Vietnam by JoliPoli couture described as having a Phoenix theme and she threw her golden-feathered boa on the floor to reveal as she entered the stage to reveal the bold red gown underneath. That's right, peasants! Pick up Venezuela's boa! China followed in a dazzling illusion gown with silver sparkles on the gown and a white furry overcoat/shawl hanging over her forearms and no one could say Nah to Na in this fabulous gown! Philippines followed in what my friend Wassim refers to as the jellyfish gown and I totally see it! It was a silvery white ornately designed illusion gown with sheer ribbon extensions coiled over the arms, on her back and at the hips almost as if they were jellyfish legs so it was a very unique concept for a gown and Ahtisa executed her performance in it well. Thailand followed in a lavish sky blue gown adorned with silver jewels and had intricate designs going down the center and at the bust with a flowing sheer blue cape floating behind her and she was a vision of radiance and elegance. Oh, glorious Veena! How could they let you go like this?! It's not right!Malta followed in a fabulous gold to silver gradient beaded fringe gown that was simply magical and I also liked the armpieces with the golden fringe hanging from them. Decadent! Julia did the heart of Mediterranean proud! Finally, Cote D'Ivoire evolved from a silver cocoon-ruffled cape to reveal the beautiful silver butterfly that Olivia is beneath in a classic silver number with sparkled lines diagonally meeting at the hip to reveal a sexy slit to show off those incredible legs and Olivia simply looked dominantly regal in this magical gown. The ladies really had an extremely strong gown game this year. Too bad it was all for naught.
Just like that, it was time for the top 5 to be announced with a little slip from Cote D'Ivoire but she recovered nicely! They did a little bit of a departure this year and started off with the final look set to Jeff Satur serenading the top 5 with his song, "Black Tie" as each of the top 5 mesmerized us as they took their places to prepare to answer the judge's questions. Thailand was first was picked Louie Heredia who asked, "If you win Miss Universe and you were given the chance to speak in front of the United Nations' Assembly, what global issue would you talk about and why did you choose that global issue? Thailand answered, "First of all, Sawadee ka! Hello! Hola! If I were to speak in front of the United Nations about the SDG's (Sustainable Development Goals), I would choose women equality because I believe that all of us deserve respect, kindness, and same equality as other genders and we deserve the same respect in the workplace, as well as the same, home...and I encourage you all to speak for your voice, raise your voice for women equality. Thank you." I think the English was a bit shaky in parts of this answer [she should have said, "same AT home" and women('S) equality] but she got a relevant message across as it is important to advocate for women's equality but Veena can do no wrong in my mind! Philippines was next and selected Minnie Baloyi who asked, "As a global ambassador or citizen, what will be your contribution to humanity?" Philippines answered, "You know, I want to be the hope of people. I come from a very poor background. I started pageants at 10 years old to put myself through school and to lift my family out of poverty and if there's anything that I want to show the universe, I'm here right now. I'm standing as Miss Universe because I was able to get myself out of any situation because I was hardworking, I was persistent, and I fight for what I want. Thank you." This was a very good answer. Ahtisa really has that thorough pageant experience so coming up with this answer was no problem for her! Venezuela picked Andrea Meza who asked, "In a world where cultural differences can separate people, how would you use your platform to promote empathy and understanding between different cultures?" Venezuela answered (in a British sounding accent once again reminding me of Lara Dutta-Miss Universe 2000!), "Sawadee ka, Thailand! Thank you so much for your question. I thank God that I had been given the opportunity to live in different continents of this world so I have a broad view of the different cultures and an understanding of how to have empathy with the people, how to communicate and how to break those barriers of language. I believe that this platform gives us access to every corner of the world and it teaches us that us, as women with a voice and being a role model, it is our future, the children, the elders, the people that see us, that hear us and we depend on making the difference. Thank you." I think this was a really good answer but the ending could have been phrased a bit better but Stephany's delivery was so eloquent that nobody really noticed. Mexico picked Dr. Nok Chalida who asked, "In your perspective, what are the challenges of being a woman in the year 2025, and how would you use the title of Miss Universe to create a safe space for women around the world?" Mexico answered, "Thank you for your question. As a woman and as Miss Universe, I will put my voice and the power in the service of others because nowadays, we are here to speak up, to make change and have everything but fear because we are women and the brave ones that stand up are the ones that will make history. Thank you." My friend Hernan pointed out something interesting here that the phrase "make history" was uttered by the last THREE Miss Universe winners (Sheynnis Palacios, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig and now Fatima Bosch) so was this some hidden code phrase to pick the winner??? Now, that I've pointed this out, watch the whole top 5 next year incorporate the phrase "make history" in their answers! As for Mexico's answer, I just thought the delivery wasn't great and the answer itself was fair and not particularly outstanding like the other answers but I guess it didn't really matter, did it? Finally, Cote D'Ivoire picked Sharon Fonseca who asked, "Education today focuses on knowledge, but not always on emotional skills. What emotional skill do you think should be taught to every child in school, and why?" Cote D'Ivoire answered, "Well, as a woman who has a foundation on education, I think it is important that we teach young girls to love themselves. That is why my slogan is, 'Assume your identity.' Because if you love yourself, if you have confidence, you can walk into this world and you can shine so I will urge every young man and every young woman to love yourself first, be who you want to be, and shine. Thank you so much. Kop khun ka." Olivia had great answers throughout. She knew it and we all knew it which is why her 4th runner up placement pretty much felt like a slap in the face for all of us.
Now, it was time for the top 5 to answer the same final question (I'm glad they didn't narrow it down to a top 3 as I prefer a top 5). The final question was, "If you win the title of Miss Universe tonight, how would you use this platform to empower young girls?" Thailand answered, "I believe that everyone who has been through all the struggles, failures, anything in life, we can get back up. It's not about how you fail, but how you rise up. I would encourage you all to be your own hero to light that light within yourself and light it on others and if we come together, lift each other up, the world will be a much better place and I encourage you all to never fear. I am standing here as your next Miss Universe and I hope to be. Thank you. Kop khun ka." I don't usually encourage people to be presumptuous and declare yourself Miss Universe before it happens but in Veena's case, it should have happened. She should have been Miss Universe... Philippines answered, "I work with an organization called Alon Akademie where we work with young people to provide them opportunities to make them realize that it doesn't matter what your life circumstances is, it doesn't define where you will go. And I want to continue working with Alon Akademie in a bigger platform, like Miss Universe, to pursue making sure that people who come from low income backgrounds are given the same opportunities as everyone else. Thank you." This was also a nice answer with strong, sincere delivery. Venezuela answered, "I believe that education and communication go hand-by-hand to influence positive activity from the girls, from the children, for everyone that watches this platform. I am standing here because with my life experiences, I've been able to become the person I've wanted to be and this is the representation of a woman that's determined, and with her conviction, she's, she's reached her goal and that is what I want all the girls to search for. Thank you, Thailand." There's that echoing of Lara Dutta again through the use of words like "platform" as Lara used during Miss Universe 2000 and "conviction" which Lara used when she won Femina Miss India 2000 so now, I feel very sure that Lara was a major inspiration for Stephany. I just hear it in the dignified way that both of them speak and now I wish I had ranked Stephany higher in my list and Venezuela has made the top 5 each year that Thailand hosted so I should have known better. Mexico answered... What? She gave an answer??? Kidding! She said, "As Miss Universe, I will say to them, believe in the power of your authenticity. Believe in yourself. Your dreams matter. Your heart matters and no...never let anyone make you doubt about your worth because you're worth everything and you are powerful and your voice needs to be heard. Thank you." I just think back to Kenya Moore answering her judge's question when she won Miss USA 1993 saying, "A woman has a strong voice and it should be HEARD." That was 32 years ago and that same message still resonates today. Mexico's answer was decent I guess but was it the best answer or even delivered well? And was she the best overall candidate?? Finally, Cote D'Ivoire knocked it out of the ballpark with a superior answer only to have that ball ricochet... Her answer was, "Well, as an ambassador and as Miss Universe, I would want to be the face of a representation, of a new generation that mixes culture and mixes modern and traditional. I want to be the face of a new era, of women that are bold, that are leaders, that are unapologetic about who they are. If I am Miss Universe, I want to be a role model for all the young girls and let them know that you too can make it. Go in those rooms where you think you don't belong, shine and make sure you assume your identity." She reiterated the phrase "assume your identity" but should she have been punished for that?? The "go in those rooms where you don't belong" phrase made me think of South Africa's Zozibini Tunzi's insistence that we "take up space" before winning the 2019 Miss Universe pageant. Ah well, things just play out this way sometimes and different people have different perspectives on the outcomes and sometimes we just have to accept it as it just could be for the best.
