Two Miss Universe judges step down amid allegations of rigging

Two judges have resigned from the Miss Universe international beauty pageant, with one making accusations of rigging and mulling a lawsuit as the annual competition nears its end in Bangkok

Two judges have resigned from the Miss Universe international beauty pageant, with one making accusations of rigging and mulling a lawsuit as the annual competition nears its end in Bangkok.

Omar Harfouch, a Lebanese-French composer, was the first to step down from the eight-member panel, saying in an Instagram post on Tuesday that there had been a “secret vote” by people not on the official jury to preselect the top 30 contestants out of 136.

On Wednesday, Harfouch said he was considering filing a lawsuit against the Miss Universe Organization that runs the competition, citing emotional trauma and reputational damage.

Omar Harfouch, a Lebanese-French composer, was one of two Miss Universe judges to resign.Eric Fougere / Corbis via Getty Images file“I was misled and publicly used to give credibility to an election process that was already compromised,” he said on Instagram, adding that a member of the unofficial group had a personal romantic relationship with one of the contestants.

The Miss Universe Organization denied Harfouch’s accusations, saying Tuesday on Instagram that there was no impromptu jury and that all competition evaluations continued to follow the organization’s “established, transparent, and supervised” protocols.