Miss Universe pageant video leaked: ‘They can compete but they can’t win’

In a video of a board meeting last November, Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, part-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, can be heard being outspoken about the true value of diversity for the pageant she oversees. She believes that having women from non-traditional backgrounds compete in a potential Miss Universe reality show is good for the pageant’s image, but ultimately “they can’t win.”

“Transgender women, women with husbands, divorced women…” Jakrajutatip explained in the video, which was provided to Vox by a former employee who attended the meeting and has not been previously reported by mainstream American media. “This is a communication strategy because, you know… they can compete, but they can’t win. We just put the policy out there. As people say, social inclusion.”

Later, in a version of the video that circulated in Asian and Latin American media in February but not widely in the United States, another board member suggested, “We could do castings for models of all skin colors, body shapes, and so on. We’d also like to commercialize this thing – start an agency. ‘Miss Universe Model Agency.’

Jakrajutatip seemed to agree with the casting idea. “We can cast real plus-size beauties, and the contestants have to be really plus-size,” she said. But she also agreed with another board member’s warning that “we have to control the audience” so that “they don’t all vote for plus-size.”

The point, Jhakrajutatip explained, is that the resulting buzz will allow them to market the Miss Universe product. “It’s all interconnected,” she concluded. “For the money!”

The Miss Universe Organization has not yet responded to Vox’s request for comment. In a statement released by Facebook in FebruaryJhakrajutatip appeared to acknowledge the existence of the video but said her words were taken out of context. “This maliciously edited video was taken out of context and used to manipulate others and cause confusion, misunderstanding, misinterpretation and wrong conclusions among the public,” she said, adding, “As a trans woman and mother myself, I have fought for gender equality my entire life to get to where I am today.”

In 2022, Jakrajutatip acquired the Miss Universe Organization as CEO of JKN Global Group, a Thai television production company. In 2023, JKN filed for bankruptcy, and in January 2024, Jakrajutatip sells half of its shares to Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha CantúCantu, who appears in the video but speaks little, is a franchise owner for Miss Mexico. He made headlines in 2011 for owning a casino that burned down in 2012. Cartel-linked massacresThe meeting in the video allegedly took place in November 2023, before the sale was finalized.

Jakrajutatip’s comments are particularly significant in light of the recent controversy surrounding the Miss Universe Organization After both Miss America and Miss Teen USA withdrew from the pageant The Miss Universe Organization is the parent organization of the Miss America Organization, and the two pageants are sister organizations. The winner of Miss America is eligible to compete in the Miss Universe pageant after a few months in office. Both former champions signed nondisclosure agreements and made limited public comments about their resignations, but reports emerged in the following weeks that they had experienced a hostile work environment and bullying at the hands of Miss America Organization President Leila Ross. (Ross In a statement to NBC “My personal goal as the leader of this organization has always been to inspire women to dream new dreams, to explore everything, and to maintain integrity in the process,” she said in May. “I hold myself to the same high standards, and I take these allegations seriously.”

As the controversy has grown, the pageant community has demanded to know the Miss Universe Organization’s stance. But the Miss Universe Organization has been conspicuous by its absence. So far, it has not issued any statement regarding Miss USA, nor taken any action to appoint a new leader.

At this point, it’s worth asking: What is the purpose of the Miss Universe Organization? Who does it serve, if not the women who have dedicated their lives to it?

The official promotional name of the Miss Universe pageant is “The Greatest Celebration of Women”.

“The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) is a global, inclusive organization that celebrates all cultures, backgrounds and religions.” it says“We create and provide a safe space for women to share their stories and make an impact personally, professionally and philanthropically.”

The idea that the pageant provides a safe space for celebrating women is central to the mythology of the institution. When I first spoke to people in the pageant world about the Miss America scandalThey reiterated over and over that the Miss America pageant was created to empower women and that the alleged bullying of the outgoing champion was a betrayal of that cause and a violation of the essence of the pageant movement.

It focuses on soft, feminine speech skills and balance – essentially, just as sports focus on hard, masculine skills of strength and speed. In theory, pageants are where girls and women learn how to speak in public and how to present themselves confidently.

“Pageants are one of the few places where we can teach life skills to young women,” Dani Walker, a pageant coach and former Miss Montana USA, told me. “The most important thing is poise, confidence, the ability to be interviewed and to speak on stage. Those life skills are very applicable and transferable to a lot of things you want to do outside of pageants. That’s the point. That’s why we exist.”

Jakrajutatip’s leadership was initially interpreted as fitting into this narrative. At the time, the idea of ​​a transgender woman, such as herself, heading a company once co-owned by Donald Trump, was seen as a sign of social progress. According to BBC reportscomes as “beauty pageants are becoming more inclusive”, with married women and mothers being allowed to compete for the first time.

I believe the people I interviewed told me that they felt empowered by the experience of participating in the pageant. At the same time, the Miss Universe pageant’s stated goal of empowering women and its recent emphasis on inclusivity have been at odds with the actual content of the pageant.

Most of the Miss Universe series of beauty pageants are still Contestants are asked to walk across the stage in different outfits—evening gowns, swimsuits, hometown-themed outfits. Unlike the Miss America pageant, the Miss Universe pageant does not have a talent competition. Different competitions have interviews, and the length of the interviews varies, but in the Miss America pageant, contestants only have to speak on stage for 30 seconds.

“The judges don’t care about your accomplishments.” A Miss New York contestant recently wrote in a blog post: “They just want to see if you can say a few words coherently without sounding stupid (which is an accomplishment for some girls). If you answer the questions they ask and answer confidently, you can say anything in the interview.”

If the goal is actually to value traditionally feminine achievements in a way that empowers all women, then it’s reasonable to ask why most contestants are judged based on very narrow standards of physical beauty. Is this actually empowering women as a class, or is it empowering a small subset of women who are happy to participate in pageants because they fit the bill?

The leaked Jakrajutatip meeting video, like the swimsuit competition, exposes the lies of Miss Universe’s mission statement. It shows that the organization uses empty rhetoric about inclusivity and diversity to cover up the narrow view of women it consistently pursues: the beauty queen is thin, cisgender, very young, and like a Barbie doll. Before the Epiphany.

As the video continues, Jakrajutatip ponders the importance of making all of the Miss Universe brands “empower women.” “Empower women,” she says. “Is there anything better than that?”