Rigging scandal roils Miss Universe as finalists ‘pre-picked’ ahead of Thailand event
Musician Omar Harfouch quit the judging panel, alleging that an ‘impromptu jury’ was created to select the top 30 finalists in advance
On Tuesday, Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch posted on social media explaining why he suddenly pulled out, saying he felt “deep confusion and concern” after finding out that an “impromptu jury” had allegedly been created to select the top 30 finalists in advance, without the presence of any of the real jury members.
“The results of this selection are currently being kept secret” from the actual judges, he said.
Harfouch also alleged in a second post that the secret selection committee consists of people with personal ties to certain Miss Universe contestants, “including the person responsible for counting the votes and managing the results, which constitutes a further conflict of interest”.
In a final post, Harfouch announced his decision to not participate in the coming Miss Universe competition.
“After having a disrespectful conversation with (Miss Universe CEO) Raul Rocha about the lack of transparency in the Miss Universe voting process, I decided to resign from the jury and refuse to be part of this charade,” Harfouch wrote. “I will also not be playing the music I composed for the event.”
