'The allegations re: rigging of Miss Universe are false,' the CEO of Miss Universe said after crowning the pageant's first Filipina American champion.
Filipina American model and designer R'Bonney Gabriel will now represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant in January 2023.
Around the same time the allegations began circulating online, Endeavor’s IMG sold the Miss Universe Organization for $20 million to JKN Global Group. The Thailand-based company is helmed by Anne Jakkaphong Jarajutatip, a Thai businesswoman, transgender activist and reality TV star in her home country.
“Saturday’s competition was the first time a trans woman addressed fans as the owner of Miss Universe,” the Miss Universe Organization said in its latest statement. “It was also the first time a Filipina American took the crown. The false rigging allegations are absurd and distract from the incredible milestones our organization and the delegates experienced this weekend.”
According to her official Miss Universe biography, Gabriel is the owner of a sustainable clothing line and former volleyball player who began experimenting with fabrics and textiles at age 15 before earning a bachelor’s degree in fashion design at the University of North Texas. Last fall, the 28-year-old pageant queen denied the rigging allegations in an interview with“I would never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win,” she said. “I have a lot of integrity.
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