Jakarta, goldensamoyed Indonesia
—
Contest
Miss Universe
again hit by controversy ahead of the event on November 21.One of the judges, Omar Harfouch, suddenly resigned and alleged that the Top 30 finalists had been ‘secretly selected’ before the judges officially voted.
Through an Instagram Stories post on Tuesday, Harfouch claimed to know that the top 30 list had been determined in secret by an ‘impromptu jury’ or unofficial assessment group.He said he got this finding from social media, not from the organization’s internal communications.
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Harfouch’s departure sparked confusion among the contestants.Many participants admitted that they only found out about the alleged pre-selection from cyberspace, not from Miss Universe herself.
Harfouch said the shadow judging group consisted of people who had personal close ties with a number of the contestants, including those in charge of counting the votes and handling the judging results.
According to him, this condition creates a conflict of interest that cannot be ignored.
He added that when asking for an explanation, the organization only published a list of names without explaining the role of each individual.This step, according to him, only dampens criticism without providing meaningful clarification.
“After a disrespectful conversation with the CEO of Miss Universe, Raul Rocha, regarding the lack of transparency in the voting process, I decided to withdraw from the jury and refuse to be part of this charade,” Harfouch was quoted as saying by the New York Post.
He also pulled off a musical performance that he had previously prepared for the event.
On the other hand, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) strongly denied all these accusations.In its official statement, MUO emphasized that there were no impromptu judges, no outside groups were given the authority to judge delegates, and the entire judging process ran according to established and supervised protocols.
“Given the confusion he expressed and the public’s misrepresentation regarding the program, we respect his decision to withdraw from the judging panel,” MUO wrote.
This controversy is not the first to arise ahead of this year’s Miss Universe opening.Previously, Miss Universe executive Nawat Itsaragrisil was fired after clashing with Miss Mexico, which resulted in a walkout of several contestants at a pre-pageant event.
(tis/tis)
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