After the victory of Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch as the new Miss Universe 2025 titleholder, French-Lebanese musician Omar Harfouch couldn’t help but speak out to allege that she is a “fake winner,” as the results of the pageant had already been predetermined.

Bosch was declared the winner amid protests from pageant observers, pointing out that the Mexican beauty queen’s performance in major competitions and even in the question-and-answer portion paled in comparison with her runners-up, among them the Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo.

Harfouch courted controversy when he resigned as part of the eight-member Miss Universe 2025 selection committee who would adjudge the delegates given the pageant’s laid out criteria.

Just minutes after the announcement, Harfouch took to his Instagram page on Friday, Nov. 21, to say Bosch’s victory is merely due to her father’s dealings with Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha.

“Miss Mexico is a fake winner. I, Omar Harfouch, declared yesterday exclusively on HBO America, 24 hours before the Miss Universe final, that Miss Mexico would win because Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha is in business with Fatima Bosch’s father,” he wrote. 

Omar Harfouch alleges that Fatima Bosch’s victory is merely due to her father’s dealings with Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha. Photo: Reuters

The singer-composer alleged that Rocha earlier urged him to vote for Bosch “for the sake of business.”

“Raul Rocha and his son urged me, a week ago in Dubai, to vote for Fatima Bosch because they need her to win ‘because it will be good for our business,’ they said to me!” he continued. 

Harfouch announced his resignation on Tuesday, Nov. 18, just three days before the coronation on Friday in Bangkok, Thailand.

The composer-businessman said that his resignation was due to a “disrespectful conversation” with Rocha as he accused the organisation of arranging an “impromptu jury” tapped to draw the 30 semifinalists. 

Harfouch further alleged that the secret panel is made up of “individuals with personal relationships with some of the Miss Universe contestants,” stating that a member of the unofficial group had a romantic relationship with one of the delegates. 

MUO refuted Harfouch’s allegations, stating that the competition evaluations continued to follow the organisation’s “established, transparent, and supervised” protocols. 

“[MUO] firmly clarifies that no impromptu jury has been created, that no external group has been authorised to evaluate delegates or select finalists, and that all competition evaluations continue to follow the established, transparent, and supervised MUO protocols,” read the statement in part. 

Aside from Harfouch, another judge, former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele, has announced his stepping down as a member of the selection committee, citing “unforeseen personal reasons.”

Bosch previously went viral after a standoff with Thai hosting committee chair Nawat Itsaragrisil, resulting in a walkout which was supported by then reigning queen Victoria Theilvig and other delegates, amid the seeming power struggle within the Miss Univerge Organization. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network