R'Bonney Gabriel hits 1 million IG followers after Miss Universe president compares her to other titleholders
Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel now has over 1 million followers on Instagram. This feat comes after Miss Universe president Raúl Rocha made a comment comparing the Filipino American beauty queen's social media following with newly crowned Fatima Bosch's.
In an interview with Mexican journalist Adela Micha on Nov. 25, Rocha shared the milestones passed by the 74th edition of the pageant.
"We just broke all the records. 16 billion views," he said in Spanish, as translated by Google.
The Miss Universe president then compared Bosch's and the previous winners' Instagram follower count.
"[Fatima's] gained 3 [million] in a week. Our previous Miss Universe, the extraordinary Danish Victoria [Theilvig] achieved 900,000 followers throughout her entire reign. The one before her, Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua, was also a phenomenon... She achieved 2.2 million followers in her time."
"The American, R'Bonney [Gabriel], achieved 800,000 followers over all this time, five years."
Rocha bought a 50% stake in the Miss Universe brand from owner Anne Jakrajutatip's JKN Global Group in January 2024. Palaacios was the reigning queen at the time.
Following the remark, Gabriel commented on a TikTok video, "I'm so tired of being measured by follower count."
According to social media analytics platform Social Blade, the 2022 titleholder had 891k followers on Nov. 25.
Gabriel's fans began to rally and call for other users to follow her. On Nov. 26, she finally hit the 1 million mark on Nov. 26.
As of writing, she has 1.1 million followers.
"In less than 24 hours, [y'all] got me to 1 million followers! It was never about the numbers, but people have looked down on me just because of my social media follower count," she wrote in Nov. 27 post.
"Maraming slaamat sa suporta. Your support is strong and so real. This gives me a bigger platform to share my passion for design. To use fashion as a force for good. It was always about advocating for the arts, making women feel beautiful in my designs, and sustainabliy through my brand @rbonneynola_design."
Her caption was accompanied by photos of her designs and her at work.
"It feels so crazy to celebrate this, but I'm happy. Let's not forget there's a whole world out there beyond digital platforms. Human connection and impact is still what's most important."
On TikTok, Gabriel shared a clip of her appearing emotional.
@rbonneynola In less than 24 hours, yall got me to 1 MILLION followers on Instagram 🫶🏼 It was never about the numbers, but people look down on me just because of my social media follower count. Thank yall so much for supporting me. Your support is so strong and so real. It means the world yall rallied for me to get here. Thank yall for tuning in to my journey. Maraming salamat po. It feels crazy to celebrate this, but I’m happy 😊 let’s not forget there’s still a whole world out there beyond digital platforms. Human connection and impact is still what’s most important ❤️
♬ original sound - First Motors
On Nov. 20, before the Nov. 21 coronation night in Bangkok, Bosch had 1.7 million followers, as per Social Blade. After the final competition, her follower count grew to 2.7 million, and as of Nov. 27, 3.4 million.
Gabriel, representing the USA, won the Miss Universe crown in 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
At the time, Paula Shugart served as MUO president.
