A judge for the 74th Miss Universe pageant has resigned and, accusing the overseeing organization of rigging the competition, is looking into filing a formal complaint against it, he announced on Wednesday.
Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, who had previously announced that he was stepping away from the eight-person jury, stated he chose to do so because a “secret vote” had been held to pre-select 30 finalists before the arrival of the official jury.
“I could not stand before the public and television cameras, pretending to legitimize a vote I never took part in. Some of the countries eliminated through this process could be at war, discriminated against, or geopolitically sensitive. Viewers would assume the jury made these decisions, and I cannot bear responsibility for a process I did not participate in. Pretending otherwise would be dishonest,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
On Wednesday, he said he has consulted a leading New York law firm who will study the case.
“The issues under review include, but are not limited to: fraud, abuse of power, corruption, deception, breach of contract, conflict of interest, and emotional and reputational damages,” Harfouch said.
Harfouch further revealed that a member of the supposed “secret committee” behind the “illegitimate” selection was in an allegedly romantic relationship with a contestant, constituting a “clear and serious” conflict of interest which may even qualify as collusion.
The musician, who composed original music for the pageant, will also be filing for damages and compensation due to “emotional trauma, reputational damage, and significant time and energy invested.”
Lastly, he warned that judges for the Miss Universe competition “could be considered as knowingly participating in a manipulated outcome,” possibly leading to legal consequences.
Prior to this, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) clarified that the committee Harfouch spoke of was for the Beyond the Crown Program, which it described as an “idependent social impact initiative.”
“The Miss Universe Organization firmly clarifies that no impromptu jury has been created, that no external group has been authorized to evaluate delegates or select finalists, and that all competition evaluations continue to follow the established, transparent, and supervised MUO protocols,” it said.
