Miss Universe 2025 contestant says pageant staff blamed Miss Jamaica for fall, reveals more behind-the-scenes issues
Miss Universe 2025 contestant Melissa Sapini, representing Haiti, revealed multiple pageant "red flags," including the incident where pageant staff allegedly blamed Miss Jamaica for her accidental fall during a preliminary event.
"Every single day, there was something. Every single day, there was whispers between girls of, 'Okay, is this weird to you? Am I going crazy?' There were so many red flags from the beginning," Sapini told PEOPLE Magazine in an exclusive interview.
The former Miss Massachusetts USA winner relayed that after Miss Jamaica Gabrielle Henry's fall on Nov. 19 during the last preliminary round before coronation night, the delegates were debriefed.
Sapini then alleged that a pageant staff member placed the blame on Henry.
"The first thing he said was it's because she wasn't paying attention," Sapini claimed. "After he said that, he was like, 'Of course, safety is our number-one priority,' this, that. But it's like, 'Are you serious?' That was really scary."
With Henry still confined in a Bangkok hospital, and completely missing the pageant's coronation night, Miss Universe Organization president Raúl Rocha recently said she was doing better and was nearing discharge.
"Over the past four days, there have been difficult moments and unexpected concerns. However, thanks to the excellent medical care provided, each issue was successfully resolved. Today, we are pleased to share that the latest medical report confirms that Dr. Gabrielle Henry is in good health and nearing discharge," Rocha said in a statement posted on social media.
Behind-the-scenes issues
Sapini recalled facing other issues behind the scenes that delegates found questionable.
She said the walkout of Miss Mexico—now Miss Universe 2025—Fatima Bosch on Nov. 4 was when "things started to feel really off."
During a pre-pageant event, Bosch walked out on Miss Universe Thailand national director Nawat Itsaragrisil following a verbal tussle.
"We all sat in that room so confused. I mean, It was silent. We were all so shocked ... trying to figure out what's going on. I'm looking at the girl next to me, I'm like, 'What is this about?'" Sapini said.
Other delegates, including Sapini, followed Bosch out of the event despite Itsaragrisil's warning that they would be booted out of the competition.
"We're at the beginning, and how dare you tell us that we're out of the competition?" Sapini remembered thinking as she walked out with the other women. "We're all here. We've all come to a foreign country, and we still haven't met the [Miss Universe Organization leadership]. And then this man has the audacity to say [after] all the work that we've put in, all the sacrifice, we're out of the competition."
Following the incident, Rocha limited Itsaragrisil's participation in the rest of the pageant, and the national director issued an apology.
Delegates 'getting sick'
Sapini alleged that throughout the three weeks leading up to coronation night on Nov. 21, multiple contestants fell ill.
"Another moment where I was scared was when contestants started to get sick. So many girls were hospitalized. Girls were dropping like flies, left and right," she said.
In pageant group chats, contestants said they had developed flu symptoms and were suffering from food poisoning. Sapini said while pageant leadership responded to some requests for help, their assistance generally consisted of chaperones telling the women to either see onsite medical personnel or check themselves into the hospital.
The issue of food poisoning was largely ignored, alleged Sapini.
"They were just giving us these box lunches that were making people sick. They were not talking about, 'Okay, everyone's getting sick. We're going to do this to change the food,' or what have you. That scared me," said Sapini.
According to the beauty queen, some got so sick that they had to stay in the hotel to rest or get help from a medical professional.
'No choice but to compete'
Most of the contestants had no choice but to keep showing up at rehearsals and pre-pageant events despite being sick, lest they miss crucial details.
"You're at a competition. Every moment counts. There were some girls that were sick, and they still came to all the events," said Sapini.
It was demoralizing, though, to go through all that and then learn about rumors of judging irregularities, according to Sapini.
Days before the coronation night, three judges resigned from their posts, with one of them, Lebanese composer Omar Harfouch, alleging the existence of an "impromptu jury" that had already pre-selected 30 finalists.
MUO denied the allegation.
"I just remember standing there looking at my phone and just being so sad. I can't even describe it to you. I dedicated my life to this organization," said Sapini.
"We put ourselves through hell. We weren't getting any sleep. We were sick, and yet we're thinking about our results. We're thinking about how every moment counts, every event counts, and by the end, to hear everything that's going on, it didn't even matter. For a month, people were exhausted, people were straining themselves, and for it to be this reality," she added.
After Bosch won, more rumors of rigged results persisted, leading Rocha to break his silence and deny the rigging as well as the resignation of the judges.
