Miss Nigeria, the runner-up in the 2024 Miss Universe pageant, responded to a set of controversial remarks made by the Miss Universe CEO regarding diversity in the contest.
Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, was crowned the winner of this year’s international pageant on Nov. 16 in Mexico City, marking the first time in the competition’s 73-year history that a contestant from Denmark has won.
The CEO of the Miss Universe organization, Anne Jakrajutatip, joined Theilvig in a press conference after the pageant concluded, and it was her answer to a reporter’s question about how the pageant has progressed in terms of diversity that has set off an intense wave of backlash:
“Evolution? We have blond and blue eyes, so we’re coming to the ultimate evolution already,” Jakrajutatip said. “We don’t need any more evolution here. We already got the best here.”
In response to Jakrajutatip’s remarks, Miss Universe’s first runner-up, Chidimma Adetshina, who is the first Miss Nigeria to make the competition’s top five, told Business Insider she didn’t take offense to the comments.
“I’m not really offended by it,” she said. “Maybe that’s just her perspective; maybe that’s how she felt about the evolution of Miss Universe.”
Jakrajutatip also came under fire for resharing an X post that Donald Trump Jr. made about Thielvig’s win.
“Biological & objectively attractive women are allowed to win beauty pageants again. WE ARE SO BACK,” Trump Jr. wrote on X on Nov. 18.
Miss Universe co-owner Raul Rocha, who acquired a 50 percent stake in the Miss Universe Organization in January, also shared Trump Jr.’s post on his Instagram page.
Adetshina shared that she felt disheartened by Trump Jr.’s remarks.
“All the queens that were crowned are so beautiful in their own different ways, so for him to make a comment like that, I feel like he was disregarding all the past queens,” Adetshina said. “I can understand why people didn’t really like a comment like that and why it was causing a spark on social media.”
When Jakrajutatip, a brown-haired, brown-eyed Thai transgender woman, took over the organization in 2022, her new ownership came with fresh promises of evolution for the next generation and an expressed interest in increasing inclusivity in the pageant.
Under her leadership, mothers and women who are married, divorced, or pregnant were allowed to compete as were women over the age of 28.
However, other controversies have surfaced that have raised questions over whether Jakrajutatip’s brand renewal pledges are genuine or just for show.
Leaked footage from an October 2023 Miss Universe staff meeting was posted online, showing Jakrajutatip discussing diverse contestants.
“Trans women, the women with husbands, divorced women … They can compete, but they cannot win. But we just put the policy out there, so you have that social inclusion,” she said, adding that it’s a “communication strategy.”
Jakrajutatip responded to the video’s circulation online, stating in a Facebook post that it “was out of context and used to manipulate other people, which led to the public confusion, misunderstanding, misinterpretation and wrong conclusion.”
She stated that the topic she was discussing with her staffers in that meeting was a potential Miss Universe reality show, not the international pageant.
