The head of the Miss Universe Organization is weighing an exit from the pageant’s ownership just months after taking charge, saying the ongoing disputes surrounding the competition have pushed him to reconsider his role.
Speaking to Mexican journalist Adela Micha on Nov. 24, days after the Bangkok coronation on Nov. 21, Raul Rocha discussed the mounting controversies that have engulfed the pageant. During the interview, conducted in Spanish, he identified himself as the president and a 50 percent shareholder of the organization.
Rocha said he is actively searching for a successor. As translated into English, he explained, “This is like a test, like a relay race. Who do I pass the baton to?” He added that he is “looking for someone to pass it on to.”
Despite acquiring his stake in January 2024, Rocha told Micha that his outlook has shifted dramatically. When asked why he was suddenly considering stepping away, he responded, “It’s just that I’m so fed up. I’m so fed up with all the talk. I don’t lend myself to that kind of thing.”
Rocha expressed frustration over the constant scrutiny he faces as “the owner, the proprietor, the president,” saying that “everyone wants to have an opinion” on how the organization is run. He complained that critics question “what decisions you make, how you make them, why you hire people, why you take away people and why you add people.”
The interview also revisited the uproar triggered by Omar Harfouch, the musician who quit the selection committee on Nov. 18. Harfouch had accused the organization of forming an “impromptu jury” to choose 30 semifinalists before the preliminary round. His claims were swiftly denied in a statement issued by Miss Universe.
Harfouch’s departure was followed by the withdrawal of pro soccer player Claude Makélélé, who cited personal reasons, and later by the resignation of Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, head of the selection committee.
Those exits added fuel to controversies already swirling since Nov. 4, when a livestream circulated showing a confrontation between pageant executive Nawat Itsaragrisil and contestant Fátima Bosch, who went on to win the Miss Universe crown. Rocha imposed multiple sanctions on Itsaragrisil in the aftermath, including barring him from the event.
In the wake of Harfouch’s allegations, a Miss Universe contestant — speaking anonymously to PEOPLE — described hearing rumors about a covert top 30 selection as “heartbreaking.”
