Miss Universe 2025 Scandal: 2 judges resign days before finals, alleging pre-selected finalists

Bangkok, Thailand: Another controversy has brought limelight back to the Miss Universe stage as two jury members have submitted their resignations and departed from the pageant days before the Miss Universe 2025 finals. One of the judges accused the organisers of being too rigid in the selection process.

One of the judges, Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, announced his quitting from the eight-member jury on his Instagram on Tuesday 18, while revealing a major breach in the selection process.

He alleged that the “Impromptu jury” had already pre-selected 30 finalists out of 136 ahead of the competition which is scheduled to be held on Friday, November 21, in Thailand, without the presence of actual eight members of the jury. He also emphasised that “He only learned about this supposed pre-selection through social media.”

Hours later, following musician Omar Harfouch resignation, French football legend and manager Claude Makélélé also declared his departure from the judging panel, citing unforeseen personal reasons.

On Tuesday, Following Harfouch withdrawal from the Miss Universe jury, the Miss Universe Organisation posted a statement declining his claims that “no external group has been authorised to evaluate delegates or select finalists.”

The organisation also stated that “Mr Harfouch's allegations had ‘mischaracterised’ the whole programme, organisation and its members.”

The withdrawal of both the judges from the pageant fueled many speculations as they both withdrew just two weeks after the November 4 incident, where several contestants walked out of a pre pageant event over the controversial remarks made by an official from host nation Thailand.

The community and the fans of the Miss Universe contest believes that the resignation of both the members comes because of the lack of transparency and fairness in the contest. People are also saying that this situation raises serious questions about the selection process by the organisation just days before the finals in Thailand.