Miss Universe R'Bonney Gabriel Addresses Rigging Allegations: 'It Is Very Hurtful'

R'Bonney Gabriel has opened up about the "disheartening" speculations surrounding her Miss Universe 2022 win.

While the pageant was airing from New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 14, a number of critics on Twitter claimed it was rigged. They pointed out that JKN Global Group, which owns Miss Universe, also owned Miss USA. Some also claimed that the pageant organizers had tipped the scales in favor of the American contestant because it was held in the United States.

Gabriel, the first Filipino American to win Miss USA and be crowned Miss Universe, denied the rumors and admitted that the rigging speculation was "hurtful."

"You know, I have to be honest, it is very hurtful," the 28-year-old beauty queen told Fox News Digital. "It's very disheartening because I have put my heart and soul into [it]. And I hope people can see that."

She continued, "However, in this competition, I know there [are] always rumors that can start. Sometimes I'm like, 'It's another day, another rumor,' and you have to take it with a grain of salt. I've been through this before because I won Miss USA. That was in the public eye and there [were] rigging allegations proven false as well."

The Texas native could be referring to the rumors that she had an unfair advantage over other Miss USA contestants, which surfaced after she took home the coveted Miss USA crown at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, in October last year.

Following Gabriel's win that month, Miss Montana Heather Lee O'Keefe blasted the Miss USA pageant for allegedly "rigging" the contest and treating her and other contestants like "puppets."

She claimed that she and other contestants believe that "there was clear and convincing favoritism" toward Miss Texas in the competition and leading up to the competition and that they had "the receipts to prove it."

O'Keefe further claimed that Gabriel "received more resources" than the other contestants.

Gabriel shut down the rumors, saying she would never join a competition "that I know I would win" and that she has "a lot of integrity."

The Miss Universe Organization also denied the rigging allegations, saying in a statement earlier this month that the results were "handled and verified" by a third-party accounting firm in the United States.

"The false rigging allegations are absurd and distract from the incredible milestones our organization and the delegates experienced this weekend," the organization said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

Following her major victory and the various speculations surrounding her crown, Gabriel decided to push forward and focus on the opportunities on her way.

"I really learned to just kind of focus my energy inward," she told Fox News Digital. "And I realized that at the end of the day, I have to be grateful for this opportunity. And I feel like the more successful you are, the more the world sees you. There will always be people that try to bring you down. But being in the public eye, I think this is a great opportunity to show resiliency and to just keep moving forward... I'm focused on my end goal. I'm focused on being successful and being positive in a world of negativity."