Fátima Bosch, who was berated by a beauty contest executive and led a walkout of supermodels, was crowned Miss Universe 2025 on Friday.
The 25-year-old Miss Mexico was named the 74th winner of the prestigious pageant, beating out first runner-up Miss Thailand Praveenar Singh.
Venezuela’s Stephany Abasali, Ahtisa Manalo of the Philippines and the Ivory Coast’s Olivia Yacé rounded out the top five.
Miss USA Audrey Eckert finished in the Top 30.
The pageant, held in Thailand under the theme “The Power of Love,” was marred by scandal since the contestants arrived in Bangkok, the capital, in early November.
During the annual sashing ceremony, Nawat Itsaragrisil, an executive director of Miss Universe Organization, called out Bosch for not participating in a social media shoot with the organizing committee.
The Thai businessman called Bosch a “dummy,” sparking a shouting match between the two, all caught on livestream.
“I still keep talking to everybody, why you still stand up to talk to me,” Itsaragrisil questioned Bosch.
“Because I have a voice,” she said. “You are not respecting me as a woman.”
Itsaragrisil, unable to quiet his opposer, called for security to take her out of the room as the rest of the contestants bemoaned the decision.
“As women, you need to show respect for us. I’m here representing a country and it’s not my fault that you have problems with my organization,” Bosch exclaimed as she walked out of the room.
The future Miss Universe’s actions led to a walk out by dozens of other contestants and Miss Universe 2024, Victoria Kjær Theilvig.
Itsaragrisil was dismissed from his duties at this year’s pageant following backlash, as Bosch was praised for standing up to the bigwig bully.
Theilvig returned to the pageant stage Friday to crown her successor.
Days before the ceremony, Miss Universe judge Omar Harfouch resigned from his position on the voting jury, claiming the Top 30 list had been chosen in secret long before the judges ever cast a vote.
Harfouch claimed he discovered that an “impromptu jury” had already chosen which contestants would move forward.
The Miss Universe Organization denied his claims saying it was part of a confusion and lack of understanding.
“His comments 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 company said Tuesday.
“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,” the statement added.
During the preliminary evening gown round on Wednesday, Miss Jamaica, Dr. Gabrielle Henry, fell off the runway, face-planting into the crowd and was carried out on a stretcher. She was hospitalized and was notably absent the next day.
The Miss Universe pageant owner, Raul Rocha, updated fans that Henry did not break any bones during her fall, he wrote on Instagram.
Nadeen Ayoub, the first-ever Miss Palestine, faced backlash after her secret life was revealed after placing in the Top 30.
