The president of the Miss Universe organisation, Raul Rocha, is currently trending because during an interview, he shockingly revealed that the reason why Olivia Yacé of Côte d’Ivoire did not win was because of her country’s “difficult” visa restrictions.
During the interview, he revealed: “For those who say, Côte d’Ivoire, why didn’t she win? There are many things that are taken into consideration. Visa is one important thing.”
He added that citizens of Côte d’Ivoire require a visa to enter 175 countries, which is gonna make it difficult for the crowned Miss Universe to travel since it is one of the important things to do during her reign.
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“A hundred and seventy-five countries ask for a visa for Côte d’Ivoire. So, then she is going to be the Miss Universe who spent a whole year in an apartment because of the cost of the visa process with lawyers.
“Some of them require six months in advance, right? Well, if she needs a visa for 175 countries, it’s kind of difficult, right?”
Rocha’s response comes after the organisation faced public backlash and scrutiny for allegedly rigging the results because Yacé is the one who deserved to win because of her excellent performance during the competition.
In the midst of the controversy, Yacé, who was crowned the fourth runner-up, released a statement, sharing that she is stepping down from her title as Miss Universe Africa and Oceania.
Her resignation was shocking, but for fans, it is the right decision because they believe that Yacé was undermined during the pageant.
Since then, more beauty queens have been speaking out and also cutting ties with the Miss Universe organisation, while some spoke about how discriminated they felt during their time in Thailand.
The lack of transparency in the organisation and competition has caused an uproar on social media, with fans rallying behind all the beauty queens.
While other fans are demanding that the newly crowned Miss Universe 2025, Fátima Bosch, should step down from her title.
In addition, Bosch recently released a statement revealing that since the drama started, she has received insults as well as death threats from fans who believe that she does not deserve the title.
