MANILA, Philippines – “Miss Mexico is a fake winner!”
A former Miss Universe judge has accused the organization of manipulating the results of this year’s competition—claims swiftly denied by the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).
Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, who stepped down as a judge two days before the coronation, took to social media on Friday to label newly crowned Miss Universe Fatima Bosch as a “fake Miss Universe.”
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| Photo courtesy: Instagram/Omar Harfouch, Miss Universe Organization |
In his post, Harfouch alleged that during a meeting “a week ago in Dubai,” pageant figure Rocha and his son “urged” him to vote for Bosch, saying they needed her to win “because it will be good for our business.” He claimed he refused, prompting them to pressure him further.
“Miss Mexico is a Fake winner. I, Omar Harfouch declared yesterday exclusively on the American 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," he said.
“All details will be [shown] in May 2026 on HBO. Raul Rocha and his son urged me, week ago in Dubai, to vote for #Fatima Bosh because they need her to win ‘because it will be good for our business’ they said to me!” he added.
Harfouch is one of two judges who resigned shortly before the finals.
In a separate Instagram post, Harfouch revealed that a “secret vote” had allegedly been conducted to pre-select 30 candidates out of the 136 delegates—an action he suggested was irregular and outside official procedures.
Shortly after his announcement, however, MUO released a formal statement rejecting Harfouch’s assertions. The organization said his remarks “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 says.
MUO also acknowledged Harfouch’s resignation but stressed that he is prohibited from using or referencing Miss Universe trademarks in any capacity.
The organization further clarified that its Beyond the Crown initiative operates independently from the Miss Universe competition and has no involvement with the official judging panel or the finalist selection process.
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express