Miss Universe 2025 judge questions Mexico’s Fatima Bosch win, declares Thailand’s Praveenar Singh her ‘winner’

Miss Universe judge Natalie Glebova publicly favoured Thailand's Praveenar Singh over Fatima Bosch, criticising the pageant's transparency and judging fairness.

Mexico's Fatima Bosch was crowned Miss Universe 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand, concluding a tumultuous 74th edition of the pageant. The season saw a major controversy where Miss Universe Thailand Director Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly scolded Fatima for following instructions from her national director rather than his and was asked to leave. For solidarity, other contestants also walked out in protest. Later, Nawat issued a public apology, in tears.

Miss Universe 2025's crown was bagged by Fatima Bosch. But Miss Universe's judge Natalie Glebova expressed disappoval and publicly announced Miss Thailand as her 'winner' on an Instagram post. (AP)

Despite the humiliation, Fatima Bosch braved through it and won the pageant. But even after the winner being crowned, doubts are being raised by none other than the Miss Universe judge Natalie Glebova, who is a Miss Universe 2005 title holder.

In her recent post shared on November 21, Natalie openly stated that she considers Praveenar Singh, the contestant representing Thailand, as a more deserving winner. Her post carried the caption, “My winner! #missuniverse.” Praveenar Singh is the first runner-up. This direct comment suggests the judge's doubts about Fatima's win.

Let's take a closer look at the post's caption and what she means.

What did the post say?

Natalie shared two pictures of Miss Thailand Praveenar Singh and addressed the concerns of transparency, highlighting the need for a more accountable and fair judging process. She even far as to state that if efforts are not taken to address these issues, she may not participate as a Miss Universe judge again.

“As a judge this year I can only speak for myself when I cast my votes. Please remember that each person has their own opinion and not one single person can influence the result.However, this must be said…when I competed in 2005 and years prior, I recall there was always an auditor that came on stage with sealed results from accounting firm. I’d like to bring that back please.Until then I don’t think I will be participating as a judge again," Natalie wrote in the captions.

Natelie referred to a system that was functional during her time when she was a contestant in 2005. She remembered there being a third-party auditor who would prevent any manipulation of bias in the results, ensuring the process is unbiased and transparent.

She expressed her disappointment that such a system is no longer in place, making the judging process less transparent and questionable. This is one of the major reasons why she openly claimed Miss Thailand as the Miss Universe winner from her perspective, casting doubts on the pageant's result.

The public opinion too was sceptical, with some netizens calling the results a form of ‘damage control’, especially in light of the controversy involving Miss Universe Thailand Director Nawat.

To read more about the netizens' speculations of how it may be a damage control, click here.

Fan reactions

Strong reactions came from fans after Miss Universe judge Natalie declared Praveenar Singh as her personal pick.

Some defended Fatima's victory and commented, “Mexico won with pride. You're free to express your opinion, but not to discredit the current Miss Universe's victory. It's a shame that people like you still exist or comment on it. We women don't attack each other. Don't be offended if Mexico comes to educate you.” They highlighted that it undermines the legitimacy of the crowned winner.

Another also called out, expressing very strong disapproval, "Thanks, Natalie, for supporting the hate against Fatima. That's probably how empowered women like you behave. By the way, one less follower. Byeeee."

As a judge, everyone expects them to be neutral. And even if they do have a personal favourite, at least it is not professional to publicly announce it. Reflecting this sentiment, another commenter also wrote how hurtful it may be for Fatima if the judge publicly declared someone else the winner after their victory. “Can you imagine if, after you won, a judge congratulated and declared another queen the winner? How would you feel? This statement reflects more poorly on you than on anyone else."

Others commented about Natalie's ties to Thailand, calling her statement biased. “Yes for you because you live in Thailand, you crowned her on her national competition, maybe it’s good you won’t be invited as a judge another time, it’s time to open the space to new people and let shine recent queens like Viktoria..”

Another hinted that Praveenar could be her good friend, “Well, I think it's obvious you'd give Thailand the win, since you crowned them and they're a good friend of yours. You're not being fair there either, because you know Thailand wasn't the best.” The post also sparked discussions around transparency and fairness in the international pageant.