Miss Universe denies rumors of new ownership as IG account returns

After almost a week of unavailability, the official Instagram account of the Miss Universe pageant is now up and running once again, but not without the drama that has been hounding the international competition for months already.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 25, in the Philippines, the account (@missuniverse) can be viewed on the photo and short-form video sharing social media platform. It was reported to be unavailable on Thursday, Feb. 19.

Around the time of the Miss Universe pageant page’s unavailablility, the official Instagram accounts of embattled Miss Universe Organization (MUO) President Raul Rocha and Bosch were also reportedly missing.

The accounts of the two personalities became available days later, before the pageant’s account returned online without explanation on the matter on its other social media pages.

Commenting in Spanish, user Juan Carlos De Ortiz attributed the unavailabiliy of the pageant’s social media page to a purported change in ownership involving the MUO.

“Not that there were new owners and that the page was shut down because a Peruvian said there were new owners, the buyer, the hate is dying, their narratives are losing value every day because everything is a lie,” he said in Spanish.

The social media handler of the pageant’s account shot down the rumor about new owners when they replied to user De Ortiz’s comment on the page.

“There’s so much imagination out there. Meanwhile, Miss Universe continues exactly as before: with the same leadership, the same vision, and more united than ever. Happy and proud of our Miss Universe Fatima Bosch,” the pageant’s account responded in Spanish.  

Controversies have hounded the international pageant even before the staging of its 74th edition in Thailand started in November last year. And just recently, former MUO CEO Anne Jakrajutatip was spotted in Mexico, Rocha’s home country. Both of them are facing legal predicaments.

The staging of the 75th Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico, meanwhile, appears to still push through, at least for now. It hit some setbacks after the competition in Thailand when the host committee reportedly demanded changes including more transparency in the results.

Bosch’s win was met with disapproval from a huge part of the crowd that watched the finale show at the Impact Challenger Hall in Nonthaburi. The indignation also transcended online.

Miss Universe 2005 Nathalie Glebova, one of the judges at the finale, had earlier questioned the absence of an official auditing firm, contrary to the customary practice.

And just recently, she revealed that most of the judges she had spoken to did not vote for Bosch as their winner. She also confirmed that first runner-up Praveenar Singh of Thailand topped her list, followed by fourth runner-up Olivia Yace of Cote d’Ivoire.

Another judge, Filipino singer Louie Heredia, revealed that he chose third runner-up Ahtisa Manalo from the Philippines as his Miss Universe winner, with Praveenar as his first runner-up. /ra