Miss Grand International’s Nawat Itsaragrisil slams Nikki de Moura: ‘Very unprofessional’

(From left) Nawat Itsaragrisil, Nikki de Moura. Image: Instagram/@nawat.tv

Nikki de Moura is being slammed by Nawat Itsaragrisil, founder of Thailand-based pageant Miss Grand International (MGI), who claimed that the Filipina-Brazilian stunner was “very unprofessional” during the 2023 edition of the global tilt.

De Moura had an early finish at the Miss Grand International pageant, which was held in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam last Oct. 25, as she failed to enter the top 20. Luciana Fuster of Peru was named the winner of the competition.

Following the pageant, Itsaragrisil accused de Moura of being “very unprofessional” during a Tiktok live last Sunday, Oct. 29, saying she “didn’t care” about her performance and was impolite throughout the pageant.

Itsaragrisil claimed that de Moura immediately left the stage after she wasn’t called in the Top 20, while noting that “it was not his fault” that the latter didn’t advance to the semifinals.

“If I see you, you give one million US dollars if your candidate [is] not going to join so many things. Especially after not (being in the) Top 20, she [quickly went back], pack, and goes out from backstage,” he said in a video which was reposted by @thepageantchronicles on Tiktok, although he didn’t explicitly mention her name.

The Thai business mogul then claimed that de Moura didn’t listen to any feedback despite having “a lot of rehearsals” and a “lot of money” being invested in the global tilt.

“Even so many people [in the] security, are going to talk, because we invest a lot of money, [and] almost one month to make a good show. [We] had a lot of rehearsal, we [paid] a lot, but she [doesn’t] care [about] anyone, she wants to skip, she wants to walk,” he said.

@thepageantchronicles During tiktok live, Mr Grand International head Nawat Itsagrisil reveals reasons why Miss Philippines Nikki De Moura failed to enter the Top 20 of MGI. 𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙞𝙙 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙗𝙮𝙚? Credits Joven Cueto /Bekis of Pageantry @Miss Grand International ♬ Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral – WZ Beat

“It’s not my fault (that) your candidate did not make it to the Top 20. After announcing the Top 20 she decided to walk out, even her national director did not stop her. He came from the front side to backstage, agreed with her, and [took] her back immediately,” he said, although he did not identify the supposed national director.

Talent manager Arnold Vegafria is the owner and director of the local franchise of MGI, the Miss Grand Philippines.

With this in mind, the MGI founder stated that de Moura was the “wrong candidate” to represent the Philippines because she “had a lot of problems since day one.”

“The problem with you is choosing the wrong candidate to compete. She [has had a lot] of problems since day one. You Filipinos stop blaming me as you have chosen the wrong candidate to compete,” he said.

“She [doesn’t] pay attention to others. She [doesn’t] respect. She [doesn’t] have responsibility. We lost a lot of money, but she [doesn’t] care about anyone. She doesn’t care, even Filipino fans. You should know I argue whether she’s a real queen or not,” he continued.

‘Pure soul’

Itsaragrisil’s tirades against de Moura aside, the teen beauty queen continued to gain support on social media from fellow MGI candidates including Fuster, Chloe Ellman-Baker (United Kingdom), Maria Alejandra Lopez Perez (Colombia), Marie Kilonzo (Germany).

The Filipina-Brazilian previously spoke about accepting her fate with “gratitude” despite dealing with the “face of heartache.”

Following her post, the MGI 2023 titleholder praised De Moura for having a “very pure soul” and that the world loves her. “MY BABY QUEEN, you have a very pure soul,” said Fuster. “In these almost 30 days together I discovered you’re a very solid woman despite your age!! Keep going Nicole de la Mariposaaa de Las Filipinas. The world loves you.”

Ellman-Baker and Perez, on the other hand, praised the beauty queen for being an “excellent representative” of the Philippines. 

Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@nikki_de_moura

For her part, Kilonzo hinted that de Moura has the potential to join Miss Universe in the future. 

Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@nikki_de_moura

Neither de Moura nor the Miss Grand Philippines organization has yet to make a statement about the allegations, as of this writing.