Two Miss Universe judges quit scandal-hit pageant, as one claims it’s rigged

Two Miss Universe judges have resigned days before the annual beauty pageant, with one of them accusing organisers of rigging the selection process.

Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, who announced his resignation from the eight-member jury on Instagram, alleged that an “impromptu jury” had pre-selected finalists ahead of the competition, set to be held on Friday in Thailand.

Hours later, French football manager Claude Makélélé also announced he’d pulled out, citing “unforeseen personal reasons”.

The resignations come two weeks after several Miss Universe contestants walked out of a pre-pageant event over controversial comments made by an official from host nation Thailand.

“An impromptu jury has been formed to select 30 finalists from among the 136 participating countries, without the presence of any of the real [eight] members of the jury, including me,” Mr Harfouch wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, saying he had discovered this via social media.

The unofficial jury comprises “individuals with a significant potential conflict of interest due to some personal relationships with some of the Miss Universe contestants”, he claimed.

Mr Harfouch did not elaborate on how this “impromptu jury” would function, or how it would override the official jury’s decision.

Via BBC/Miss Universe