Miss Universe 2025 Fatima Bosch addresses vote-rigging allegations in first interview since crowning
For the first time since she was crowned Miss Universe 2025, Fatima Bosch has broken her silence regarding the accusations of vote-rigging that have clouded her early reign.
In an exclusive interview with ABC's Nightline, Bosch described her victory as "a dream come true" and talked about the time she walked out of a pre-pageant activity after she got into a heated exchange with Miss Universe Thailand national director Nawat Itsaragrisil, who reportedly called her "dumb" for not fulfilling an obligation of the competition. She walked out of the pre-sash ceremony, which prompted her fellow beauty queens to do the same. Itsaragrisil has since apologized.
"He wanted like to humiliate me in front of all the people. And that was not okay. I told him, like, you can't talk me like that. You can't call me dumb. I was scared at that time," she said.
"I couldn't stay quiet, because in every case, your dignity is more important than any price or any dream that you have," Bosch continued.
Just before the final competition, one of the judges of the competition, Omar Harfouch, resigned, alleging the pageant was fixed. Harfouch claimed that 30 finalists had been secretly chosen in advance and called for Fatima Bosch to be disqualified. Miss Universe Organization has denied this.
"Well, my response to them and to him was that if maybe he wanted like, more followers on Instagram, he should, like, I don't know, get into a show, a TV show, maybe," she told the host.
In the same interview, she addressed critics who suggested her win was influenced by her father, an oil executive with business ties to the pageant's co-owner from Mexico, Raul Rocha Cantu.
"They make, like, this campaign of hate. My father has nothing to do with the organization," Bosch said. "And it's crazy. How are you going to buy a crown? Maybe in Walmart, you can buy a crown, yeah. But not in Miss Universe, for sure."
In the end, Bosch stood firm and said that she "will never step away" from the crown, promising to fulfill her mission as Miss Universe.
"I'm not here for fame or modeling or certain husbands. I'm here because God put a purpose on my heart. I have a mission, and I will do that all year to serve others," Bosch said.
Recently, Bosch has reacted to the hateful messages she has been receiving in a statement in Spanish on Instagram Stories.
"These are some of the messages I have received these last days. What must there be in a person’s heart to wish harm to someone they don’t even know? Thank God my values and self-esteem are strong, and this doesn't break me," she wrote, as translated by Google.
Bosch continued that she's raising her voice as a woman, not as a beauty queen. "A woman who, like millions in the world, has lived in her own flesh the violence that is born from hate, from misinformation, and from the inability of some to see a woman shine without feeling threatened."
