Resigned Judge Claims Miss Universe Owner Pressured Him to Vote for Miss Mexico Days Before Her Win (Exclusive)
- - Resigned Judge Claims Miss Universe Owner Pressured Him to Vote for Miss Mexico Days Before Her Win (Exclusive)
Zoey LyttleNovember 22, 2025 at 12:20 AM
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Daniel Topic; Arnun Chonmahatrakool/Thai News Pix/LightRocket via Getty
Omar Harfouch; Fátima Bosch. -
Omar Harfouch, who resigned from the Miss Universe judging panel days before the pageant, is making new claims following Fátima Bosch's win
The contestant hailing from Mexico was crowned on stage in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, Nov. 21
Harfouch took to Instagram to allege that he said she would win 24 hours earlier during an interview for an upcoming HBO project
Former Miss Universe judge Omar Harfouch claims he predicted Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch's win 24 hours before her crowning.
Harfouch made headlines earlier this week when he announced his resignation from the Miss Universe judging panel just days before the international competition took place on Nov. 21. On Tuesday, Nov. 18, he publicly claimed that the Miss Universe Organization formed an "impromptu jury" to choose 30 finalists before participants from 136 countries even took the stage for the preliminaries.
The pageant denied his claims, posting a public statement on Instagram.
Arnun Chonmahatrakool/Thai News Pix/LightRocket via Getty
Fátima Bosch wins Miss Universe 2025.
"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," read the statement published on Nov. 18.
Three days later, after Bosch was named Miss Universe 2025 on stage in Bangkok, Thailand, Harfouch posted an Instagram Reel claiming that her win was "fake." The composer claimed that the day before, he had predicted she would be crowned during an interview for an upcoming project with HBO.
"Miss Universe owner Raúl Rocha is in business with Fatima Bosch’s father," Harfouch claimed in his Instagram caption. He continued to allege that Rocha and his son urged Harfouch to vote for Mexico's contestant for the benefit of their business.
Speaking to PEOPLE, Harfouch claims that he pushed back against their efforts to sway his vote.
"I asked him, ‘You shouldn't ask me this, because maybe I will vote for her by myself because she had an amazing speech and for women's rights,'" Harfouch recalls of the alleged encounter. "His son told me, 'For our business, [it] is very important to secure that she will win.'"
Representatives for HBO, Rocha, the Miss Universe Organization and Bosch have not responded to PEOPLE's request for comment.
As Harfouch previously told PEOPLE, he claims he confronted Rocha upon hearing rumors of the top 30 being chosen before preliminaries. According to Harfouch, his concerns were dismissed by the pageant owner, though he also claims that Rocha "became very angry" after Harfouch's resignation.
Daniel Topic
Omar Harfouch.
Two other expected judges — former soccer pro Claude Makélélé and Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie — also resigned from the panel after Harfouch. At the time, Makélélé cited "unforeseen personal reasons" for his absence, while the Italian royal figure did not comment on her lack of participation.
Considering his effort to expose the pageant on social media and willingness to speak to the press, Harfouch says he didn't believe the Miss Universe Organization would actually "choose" Bosch as the winner.
"I was surprised to see that, no matter the huge scandal even, they voted for her," the former judge tells PEOPLE. "[At] the last second, I was thinking that he's not that stupid to do it. But I saw in his eyes and when he was talking to me that he is obliged to something bigger than him. I don't know what."
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One contestant, who asked to remain anonymous, told PEOPLE that rumors of the covert top 30 selection were "heartbreaking" to learn. They discovered what happened moments after they finished their final rehearsal for the preliminary round.
“Many of us learned through social media, not the Miss Universe Organization, that the preliminary selection for the Top 30 was not only conducted without the presence of the official judges, but before we’ve even competed on stage," the contestant said hours after Harfouch's bombshell resignation. "Many contestants in this pre-picked top 30 list violate conflict of interest through personal relationships to people of the organization."
The pageant hopeful also expressed gratitude for Harfouch's willingness to speak out. "We thank Omar Harfouch for standing up for integrity when the organization would not," she said. "He showed the very leadership Miss Universe claims to celebrate.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
