The Reel Review
The Miss USA and Miss Universe pageant organizations have been plagued with recent controversies – the former hit with allegations of sexual harassment and shocking ownership drama, with the two most recent co-owners of Miss Universe each facing arrest warrants on charges of money laundering and fraud. All of this comes as the 2025 pageant was the most scandalous in Miss Universe history. This three-episode docuseries recaps the drama.
Those already familiar with the controversies will be a bit disappointed that this docuseries just recaps what we already know, while omitting some equally scandalous information (see REEL FACTS below). The first two episodes focus primarily on the drama within the Miss USA organization, much of which is now old news.
That said, shared text messages and photos from former Miss USA VP Max Sebrechts (then husband to then Miss USA CEO Crystle Stewart) to 2021 Miss Michigan Taylor Hale, as well as a secretly recorded post-pageant video of him “helping” her with her state costume in the hotel lobby under the guise of getting into her hotel room, is pretty creepy.
The third episode finally gets to the titular drama – claims that the 2025 Miss Universe was rigged for Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch, whose father is a high-ranking advisor for the state-owned oil and gas company that had recently awarded new Miss Universe co-owner Raul Rocha Cantù a $745 million business contract. We again see the shocking Facebook live feed of Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly scolding Bosch, which, in the wake of her sub-par performance and win, now raises questions whether it was staged to elicit sympathy for her. Most damning are the interviews conducted prior to the finals with Omar Harfouch, one of the three judges who had just resigned, saying Cantù had told him to vote for Miss Mexico, and Miss Universe Persia Sahar Biniaz, who quit the pageant after she was urged to donate $500,000 to the pageant to be considered for a Top 5 placement. For those previously unaware, all of this is shocking, but for those already in the know, the docuseries is a missed opportunity to dig past the Wikipedia highlights, provide more details and delve into the alleged criminal financial wrongdoing by Miss Universe’s co-owners.
REEL FACTS
• The 2026 Miss Universe pageant is scheduled to take place on November 24 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its two co-owners are fugitives evading criminal arrest warrants – Cantù for trafficking and Jakrajutatip for fraud.
• One element not addressed in the docuseries – pageant officials reopened People’s Choice voting for another day after it had ended, with Miss Paraguay, who was later disclosed to be in a relationship with People’s Choice selector James Healy, suddenly rising to the top and being named the People’s Choice 30th semifinalist after not having been in the top ten in the publicly posted vote.
• Also not addressed in the docuseries: 2025 judge and former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova says judges were very surprised to see Miss Mexico in the Top 5 and that 5 of the 8 judges she spoke with afterwards said they did not place Miss Mexico as their top choice, raising further questions about possible rigging.
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