The 14 biggest controversies in the history of Miss Universe

Mary Leona Gage wasn’t allowed to compete at Miss Universe in 1957 after judges discovered she lied during Miss USA.

Mary Leona Gage won the Miss USA pageant in 1957 and was supposed to represent the United States at Miss Universe.

But as The Baltimore Sun reported, Gage’s title and crown were revoked the day after she won the pageant because the Miss Universe organization discovered she was married, had two children, and lied about being 18 when she was really 21. The pageant did not allow contestants to be married or have children until 2023.

In 2005, Gage told The Baltimore Sun she competed in the Miss USA pageant in the hopes of escaping her husband, who she married when she was just 14.

Bob Barker resigned as host of the pageant after 21 years in 1987.

Bob Barker served as host of both the Miss USA pageant and the Miss Universe pageant from 1966 to 1987.

But Barker was a staunch animal rights activist, so he took issue with the Miss Universe organization giving Miss USA and Miss Universe contestants fur coats as part of their prizes, as The Los Angeles Times reported. In 1987, he told the organization he would not host the events in the future if the pageant continued to give contestants fur coats as part of their prize winnings.

The organization agreed to substitute the coats for faux fur options in 1987, so Barker hosted both pageants, as The Los Angeles Times reported.

But in 1988, Miss Universe planned to offer contestants fur coats again, so Barker resigned as host for good, as The New York Times reported.

In 1994, the pageant stripped Miss Puerto Rico of her title after she competed at Miss Universe.

As the Orlando Sentinel reported, Brenda Robles was secretly pregnant when she competed at the Miss Universe pageant, and the organization revoked her Miss Puerto Rico title and crown when they discovered she was with child.

The outgoing Miss Universe Dayanara Torres was also from Puerto Rico in 1994. She crowned Miss India Sushmita Sen during the pageant.

Donald Trump publicly shamed Miss Universe Alicia Machado after she won the pageant in 1996.

Machado was crowned Miss Venezuela in 1995 before going on to win the 1996 Miss Universe pageant. She was just 18-years-old at the time.

As The New York Times reported in 2016, Machado gained weight after she was crowned queen. She requested emotional and medical support from the pageant and was then forced to exercise in front of the press by the Miss Universe Organization and Donald Trump, who was an executive producer for the pageant at the time.

“This is somebody who likes to eat,” he told reporters of Machado during the incident.

After Hillary Clinton pointed to Trump’s criticism of Machado — saying he called the teen “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” because of her Venezuelan heritage — during a 2016 presidential debate, Trump stood behind his statements, as Business Insider previously reported. During a September 2016 “Fox and Friends” segment, he said Machado “gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem.”

Machado responded to Trump in a press conference organized by Clinton’s campaign, saying she developed bulimia and anorexia because of Trump’s treatment.

“He always treated me like garbage,” she said.

Miss Lebanon dropped out of the pageant in 2002 because of global politics.

Christina Sawaya was crowned Miss Lebanon in 2002. But unlike other champions that year, she did not go on to appear at the Miss Universe pageant.

As CNN reported in 2015, Sawaya wanted to avoid competing alongside Miss Israel amid mounting tensions between the countries.

In 2008, Miss Puerto Rico Ingrid Marie Rivera alleged her makeup and clothes were pepper sprayed during the pageant.

Ingrid Marie Rivera was crowned Miss Puerto Rico in 2008.

But after she won, Rivera said someone covered her evening gown and makeup for the pageant in pepper spray, as The Associated Press reported. She said she broke out in hives and had to apply ice packs all over her body after the competition.

The AP reported that an investigation found that one of Rivera’s evening gowns and her swimsuit tested positive for pepper spray, and investigators believed two pageant employees were likely responsible for the incident.

Rivera went on to compete at Miss Universe, but Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela won the top prize.

Jenna Talackova planned to sue so she could compete in the 2012 Miss Canada pageant.

Jenna Talackova wanted to compete in the 2012 Miss Canada pageant, which feeds into Miss Universe. But Talackova was initially banned from competing because she is transgender, as CNN reported at the time.

Talackova hired womens’ rights lawyer Gloria Allred to challenge the pageant’s rule, but the pageant decided to change its rule in April 2012, according to CNN.

Talackova ended up participating in the 2012 Miss Canada pageant, but Sahar Biniaz beat her for the crown and went on to compete at Miss Universe. Olivia Culpo won the title while representing the USA that year.

In 2015, Steve Harvey crowned the wrong winner.

From asking a contestant to meow onstage to making jokes about the cartel, Steve Harvey had plenty of gaffes during his five-year stint as the host of Miss Universe.

But no moment was bigger than when he accidentally crowned the wrong winner during the December 2015 pageant.

Harvey initially announced that Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez had won the title of Miss Universe. But after the crown was placed on Gutiérrez’s head and the Miss Universe sash was draped over her shoulders, Harvey revealed there had been a mistake — the real winner was Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.

Harvey, who was hosting Miss Universe for the first time, took responsibility for the mix-up. He later told Kevin Hart in a 2021 interview that the scandal was “the worst week of my life.”

Miss Puerto Rico 2016 lost her crown after telling reporters “I just do not like cameras.”

Kristhielee Caride sued the Miss Universe Puerto Rico organization for $3 million after she was stripped of her title before the Miss Universe 2016 pageant.

In March 2016, it was announced that Caride would no longer represent Puerto Rico after she canceled appearances and refused to answer questions during an interview with reporters, according to DailyMail.com.

Caride shocked the national organization when she told one Puerto Rican newspaper “I just do not like cameras.”

Desiree Lowry, who was national director of Miss Universe Puerto Rico, held a press conference to announce Caride’s replacement. She said Caride informed her she was going through personal issues at the time, but that she canceled other appearances and did not apologize to the newspaper.

“Miss Puerto Rico is a public figure and part of your job is to be in front of the camera,” Lowry said.

Caride sued the organization months later and the week-long trial gripped the country, according to the BBC. The lawsuit was dismissed after a judge ruled that Caride had violated the terms of her contract.

Miss USA, Miss Australia, and Miss Colombia were accused of bullying contestants during the 2018 competition.

Miss USA Sarah Rose Summers, Miss Australia Francesca Hung, and Miss Colombia Valeria Morales were criticized for a video they made during the final day of rehearsals.

In the clips, Summers said Miss Vietnam H’Hen Niê was “so cute” and “pretends to know so much English,” according to People. She also mentioned that Miss Cambodia Rern Sinat didn’t speak any English and “not a single person here speaks her language.”

“Can you imagine?” Summers continued. “Francesca said that it would be very isolating and I think yes, and just confusing all the time.”

Social media users accused the three pageant queens of bullying Miss Cambodia and Miss Vietnam. Summers later issued an apology on Instagram and shared a photo of herself, Morales, and Hung hugging Sinat and Niê.

“In a moment where I intended to admire the courage of a few of my sisters, I said something that I now realize can be perceived as not respectful, and I apologize,” Summers said. “I would never intend to hurt another.”

Miss Peru 2019 lost her crown after a leaked video showed her during a night of partying.

Miss Peru 2019 Anyella Grados was stripped of her title in March 2019 when a video emerged that appeared to show her drunk and vomiting, DailyMail.com reported at the time.

The video was recorded by Miss Teen Peru 2018 Camila Canicoba. Yoko Chang, who had placed second runner-up in the Miss Peru 2019 competition, also appeared in the video.

Canicoba told Peruvian outlets at the time that she had accidentally uploaded the video to social media and only meant to share it privately.

The Miss Peru organization cut ties with Grados.

Grados released a statement after she was stripped of her title and said the video had been filmed without her consent and “impinged against my honor and my reputation.”

Miss Bolivia 2022 Maria Fernanda Pavisic lost her crown after she said two of Miss Universe contestants looked like “transsexuals.”

Less than two months before the 71st Miss Universe competition took place in January, Miss Bolivia 2022 Maria Fernanda Pavisic posted a video on her Instagram story in which she discussed her Miss Universe competitors.

She said Miss Paraguay, Miss Brazil, and Miss El Salvador looked like “old ladies,” that Miss Venezuela and Miss Pery resembled “transsexuals,” and that Miss Ecuador, Miss Aruba, and Miss Curaçao belonged in the “thanks for participating” category, according to DailyMail.com.

After she was criticized for her remarks, Pavisic said that the comments were a social experiment designed to “generate change” and inspire people to share positive content on social media.

“People decide to support the negative but I risked everything to leave a message,” she wrote. “I have always said that it does not matter what people say about you, instead what you think of yourself.”

But her explanation wasn’t enough for the Miss Bolivia organization, which stripped Pavisic of her title and found a replacement a month before the competition.

Miss Russia 2022 Anna Linnikova claimed she was “shunned” by contestants during the 71st Miss Universe pageant.

Miss Russia 2022 Anna Linnikova told Evening Moscow in January that many contestants avoided her during the competition after “learning about my origins” and that Miss Ukraine and Miss Switzerland “simply ran from me like fire!”

Linnikova said she had tried to make contact with Miss Ukraine Viktoria Apanasenko “but all efforts were in vain.”

Apanasenko had previously told the Daily Beast that the only time Linnikova approached her was to try and take a selfie.

“Miss Russia did not say a word about the war,” she said. “People told me it would be dangerous for her.”

Apanasenko also told the site that she struggled to stand on the same stage with Linnikova, who wore a “Crown of Russian Empire” outfit during the national costume contest.

“I am not sure the organizers understood what it felt like for me to be standing and smiling on the same stage with Miss Russia who was wearing a red dress, the color of blood,” she added.