Accepting older contestants with children makes the Miss Universe contest criticized

On April 22, Ms. Alejandra Rodríguez, 60 years old, surpassed many young girls to be crowned the highest winner at the Miss Universe Buenos Aires (Argentina capital) 2024 contest. Alejandra’s victory caused controversy on the Internet. beauty forums.

In an article about Alejandra posted by beauty site Missuupdates, an audience member called the Miss Universe contest a circus. This information created a heated debate on beauty forums.

It is known that from 2023, the Organizing Committee of the Miss Universe contest announced that there will be no age limit for contestants participating in the contest. Accordingly, the requirement that candidates must be under 27 years old to take the exam is waived.

Many opinions are supportive because the Miss Universe pageant is trying to create diversity, support and encourage women of all ages to be confident. The appearance of contestants of diverse ages and backgrounds makes the contest more attractive because it conveys many meaningful messages.

With opinions supporting Ms. Alejandra Rodríguez’s victory, they said that the 60-year-old woman completely deserved it because she possessed beauty and good education.

Alejandra Rodríguez is introduced as a lawyer, a journalist, an animal activist, with a healthy and energetic life. Besides, Ms. Alejandra Rodríguez also possesses a youthful appearance.

Many audiences agree that the appearance of older women like Alejandra Rodríguez in major beauty contests like Miss Universe is considered a motivation to help women of all ages confidently shine and express themselves. .

Meanwhile, others believe that the age diversity of contestants causes the quality of the long-standing beauty contest to decline. Rachel Slawson – Miss Utah 2020 – once expressed skepticism with the innovations of the Miss Universe Organizing Committee.

“I agree that women will not expire at the age of 28 or 29. Maybe that’s when we start our careers but this can be unfair for young women when they have to compete with other women. older, more confident and experienced people,” Rachel said.

Miss Universe is considered a pioneering beauty contest in breaking the usual rules for a traditional beauty contest. From 2022, they will issue regulations to accept candidates who have given birth, are married, and have children to participate. Besides, they also welcome transgender contestants.

In the 2023 season, there will be 2 transgender contestants and 2 women with children representing the country participating in the Miss Universe contest. In the end, Colombia’s representative – a mother – made it to the top 5 while Portugal’s representative – a transgender – made it to the top 20.

Miss Universe is currently considered one of the four most prestigious and largest international beauty contests in the world today with a large number of quality contestants. However, since the copyright of the Miss Universe contest belonged to Thai transgender businesswoman – Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip at the end of 2021, the contest has continuously become the center of controversy.

In an effort to renew the contest, Ms. Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip constantly introduces reforms in the way the organization operates and selects contestants. However, Anne’s innovation did not always receive support.

Under Ms. Anne, key figures who have been with the Miss Universe organization for a long time gradually submitted their resignations and expressed frustration with her way of operating. Many countries refused to send representatives to the Miss Universe contest.

Ms. Amy Emmerich – CEO of Miss Universe – has submitted her resignation letter. Previously, Ms. Paula Shugart – Miss Universe President – and Ms. Esther Swan – Talent Director – also resigned.

After resigning, Ms. Paula Shugart announced that she would file a lawsuit against Ms. Anne for falsely accusing her of accepting bribes. Paula Shugart currently receives support from many former Miss Universes in the case.

Last February, a video allegedly recorded at a private meeting between Ms. Anne Jakrajutatip and the contest’s team was shared on social networks, causing intense controversy. The clip revolves around a conversation between Ms. Anne Jakrajutatip and her colleagues about the operating methods and new policies of the Miss Universe contest.

In the clip, Ms. Anne affirmed that the Miss Universe contest has no age limit, allowing transgender women, married women, and children to participate, but will not let these people win. Ms. Anne also affirmed that their participation in the contest was only to increase audience reach and business.

In the video shared on social networks, the transgender businesswoman also shared her intention to organize the Miss Universe contest in the form of reality television to attract audiences, while integrating advertising and business. sales of goods.

The video created a controversy. Many viewers criticized the transgender businesswoman and the Miss Universe Organizing Committee for commercializing the contest.

Responding to criticism, the Miss Universe organization denied and explained that the clip was published for bad purposes and to tarnish the image of the organization.

Ms. Anne also explained: “We always have kind supporters who really love the Miss Universe brand and believe in our core value of promoting diversity.

I am a transgender woman and mother who has fought for gender equality all my life to get to where I am today. Why should I live contrary to what I believe? God has given me a purpose to live, inspire and spread kindness.”

After a series of scandals, fans gradually expressed regret for Miss Universe and the reputation built over many years through the competition. The Miss Universe 2024 contest is set to be held in Mexico later this year.