Was Miss Universe 2023 Rigged? Trans Owner Accused Of Making USA Win

The 71st Miss Universe ended with controversy Sunday as social media users accused the new owner of the organization of "rigging" the pageant in favor of Miss USA.

Anne Jakrajutatip, a transgender rights advocate and the chief of Thai multinational conglomerate JKN Global Group — which bought the Miss Universe Organization and Miss USA last year — was criticized online over alleged "favoritism" toward the newly crowned pageant winner, R'Bonney Gabriel.

Social media users pointed to a conflict of interest for Jakrajutatip as her company controls both Miss Universe and Miss USA and the fact that this year's Miss Universe pageant was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, TMZ noted.

Some Twitter users also claimed that this year's pageant seemed unfair as the 28-year-old former Miss Texas' performance was "underwhelming" compared to other contestants such as Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel and Miss Dominican Republic Andreina Martínez, who were the first runner-up and second runner-up, respectively.

"Miss Universe is such a scam. That s—t is rigged. I could think of 5 other [contestants who] were more deserving of the crown," one user wrote.

Another commented, "Miss Universe is RIGGED. Dominican Republic had THE best answer [of] the 3 and within the time limit."

"Even the delegates didn't know if it was actually real. We're all like Miss Kosovo in the bottom right. Good job @MissUniverse, you keep demonstrating your corruption. #RIGGED #MissVenezuela," a third user wrote, attaching a video clip of the winner announcement that showed Miss Kosovo's reaction in the background.

"The fact she [Martinez] didn't win over Miss USA is mind-boggling. Mind you, Miss USA literally spoke nonsense and WENT OVER the time limit by like what, 8 seconds?" another Twitter user said, commenting on the allegations that Miss USA was given more time during the question-and-answer portion.

"Miss USA's overall performance was pretty underwhelming all throughout. She's definitely not beating the 'rigged' allegations. Sorry," a fifth user claimed.

But some Twitter users came to Gabriel's defense and claimed she earned the win.

"USA is the clear winner, even before Miss Universe, despite the rigged accusations, it was not rigged. She just has the 'it' factor to her," one user commented.

Another wrote, "Never forget that some of her Miss USA opponents said it was rigged and that R'Bonney Gabriel didn't deserve to win, but look at her now. Slayed the bigger competition and proved her doubters wrong. ... She's now OUR MISS UNIVERSE 2022!! QUEEN BEHAVIOR."

The allegations came after JKN Global Group's acquisition of the organization for $20 million in October last year, according to CNN.

The Miss Universe Organization also includes the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. It was previously owned by Donald Trump from 1996 to 2015 but was sold to IMG when NBC dropped the pageants after he made "controversial remarks" during his presidential campaign.

After Gabriel was crowned Miss USA last year, several other contestants accused the pageant of favoritism and rigging the competition in favor of the eventual winner, CNN reported.

Miss Montana USA Heather Lee O'Keefe claimed in a TikTok video that the "drama" began when a major pageant sponsor posted a video of Gabriel at a luxury spa owned by the sponsor hours after Gabriel won. She also said there is a photo of the pageant owner doing Gabriel's hair, citing it as an example of alleged favoritism for Gabriel.

"We really can't blame this girl and it's really sad because her performance was amazing and she probably could have won fair and square," O'Keefe said in a TikTok video. "The issue is not with Miss Texas or R'Bonney winning. The issue is with the alleged corruption of the Miss USA organization."

But Gabriel denied the claims, telling E! News that the spa was a sponsor of Miss Texas USA. She claimed that after she was crowned Miss Texas, she paid for the spa visit herself and shot a video there.

Miss USA president Crystle Stewart and her company, Miss Brand Corporation, were suspended by the Miss Universe organization in October last year, and a third-party investigation was launched into the claims that the competition was rigged.

Stewart denied the allegations, claiming that the accusations were "misleading and simply not factual," according to a statement to CNN.

She further explained, "The last thing I would ever want to do is discredit or deny the contestants an equal opportunity to a fair competition. I would never jeopardize my dream of running an organization that empowers these young women."

Meanwhile, Jakrajutatip, who has been outspoken about her experiences as a transgender woman, has yet to release a statement on the allegations surrounding Miss Universe 2023.