Miss Universe Organization (MUO) president Raul Rocha publicly pushed back against allegations surrounding this year’s pageant, releasing a detailed, three-part statement that challenged claims made by French-Lebanese musician Omar Harfouch. Rocha posted the remarks on Instagram on Monday, Nov. 24, calling out what he described as deliberate attempts to exploit the Miss Universe platform.
Rocha opened his message by stressing that the selection of Miss Universe 2025 winner Fatima Bosch was based on a wide range of assessments beyond what viewers saw during the live broadcast. He explained that delegates are observed throughout their weeks of living together, where qualities such as discipline, cooperation, professionalism, and respect for fellow candidates are constantly evaluated.
“Living together for 20 days, 24 hours a day, inevitably leads to countless situations in which discipline, responsibility, professionalism, sisterhood, a spirit of service, and many other values must prevail, especially loyalty toward all other competitors,” he said. “These, among other factors, are what the discipline committee takes into account, along with a private interview and later the judging panel’s evaluations.”
Rocha added that judging a winner solely based on the coronation night would be unrealistic. “Three hours onstage do not reflect all the qualities that, from my perspective with clear objectivity, the woman who represents us before the world must possess,” he wrote.
The MUO president then directly addressed the controversy ignited by Harfouch, who previously claimed he quit as a Miss Universe judge and alleged that Bosch was a “fake winner.” Rocha insisted no judge stepped down.
“The only truth that stands is that no judge resigned. The musician, whom nobody knew, turned out to be an opportunist, and anyone with good judgment can see how an unknown person tried to latch onto the fame of Miss Universe to gain followers,” Rocha said.
He expressed disappointment over extending trust to someone he believed he was helping professionally. Rocha also said the organization would pursue legal action and condemned the circulation of manipulated images that appeared intended to damage reputations.
“I hope the truth about who he really is and about his story comes to light soon, that justice is served, and we will also take legal action,” he wrote.
Rocha emphasized that Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie and former French footballer Claude Makelele — the two other judges — had not resigned, saying the narrative around their supposed departure was fabricated.
“The entire circus surrounding their supposed resignation was created falsely, once again, by the pseudo-musician for his own benefit, knowing that with his poor and limited career, he would not receive media attention otherwise,” Rocha stated.
He urged the public to disengage from the musician online, saying, “I encourage everyone to remove him from their social media and show the world that opportunists who exploit others have no place here, especially those who fabricate AI images that damage others’ reputations just to benefit themselves and feed their ego and insecurity.”
Rocha used the final portion of his statement to outline how MUO operates, stressing that it is a private institution with no public funding. He noted that judges are unpaid and that the organization absorbs all logistical and hospitality costs for participating delegates.
“Nothing and no one will stop the global phenomenon that is Miss Universe, a phenomenon heard and felt around the world,” he said. “The results speak for themselves, and we are only a few days in. We will break every record.”
He ended his remarks with a biblical reference: “And to those who criticized and judged us, I want to cite the Bible: Luke 14:11 — ‘For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’”
