Miss Jamaica's Unfortunate Fall: A Look at the Miss Universe Pageant's Troubles

The Miss Universe pageant, held in Bangkok last week, crowned Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch Fernández as the new titleholder. However, the event was overshadowed by several controversies and incidents.

A Contestant's Fall

Gabrielle Henry, representing Jamaica, suffered a serious fall during a preliminary event. Clad in a shimmering orange dress, she slipped and tumbled off the stage. Videos of the incident show her being carried away on a stretcher.

The Miss Universe organization's president, Raúl Rocha, visited Henry in the hospital, where she is recovering with family. An Instagram post from Henry's account confirmed that her injuries were not life-threatening.

As of last Friday, Henry remained in the intensive-care unit. Her sister, Dr. Phylicia Henry-Samuels, shared that Henry's recovery was slower than expected but that she was receiving proper care. She is expected to stay in the ICU for at least a week.

Other Controversies

The pageant has faced multiple issues this year. Earlier, Miss Mexico led a walkout after being scolded by a pageant executive during a live Facebook stream.

Before the main event, two judges and the selection committee president resigned. One judge, Claude Makélélé, cited personal reasons, while another, Omar Harfouch, accused the organization of having an unofficial jury that preselected finalists. Harfouch also claimed that some of these jurors had personal ties to contestants.

The Miss Universe organization denied these claims, but one of the new judges, Natalie Glebova, has connections to current contestants. Glebova, who was Miss Universe in 2005, has coached Miss Universe Canada 2025 winner Jaime VandenBerg, who is competing in Thailand.

The Miss Universe organization has been contacted for comment, but no response has been received yet.