Miss Universe 2023 Contestant Calls Out Pageant’s ‘Disheartening’ Lack of Transparency: ‘System Is Broken’

Michelle Dee found the 2025 pageant season “disheartening.” 

The former Miss Universe 2023 contestant recently joined Almost Honest podcast host and Miss International 2016, Kylie Verzosa, to talk about their hopes for the future of the Miss Universe pageant and why they’ve been disappointed with it as of late. 

On the podcast, Verzosa shared that she doesn’t believe the Miss Universe pageant is “under the right management.”

“Personally, I do not like Nawat [Itsaragrisil],” she candidly said, adding that she feels like the organization “deserves a better leader.”

While Itsaragrisil is a Miss Universe executive and the Miss Grand International president, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) is owned by Raúl Rocha, who has been engulfed in legal drama following the 2025 pageant. In December 2025, Rocha reportedly admitted to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FRG) that he was involved in smuggling fuel from Guatemala to Mexico. The FRG also accused the businessman of trafficking drugs and weapons.

While discussing the pageants and her experience with them, Dee agreed that it’s “disheartening” seeing how things have shifted after growing up watching the pageants.

“It’s like because you’ve seen it year after year after year — and it’s not just Miss Universe, we go through how many pageants are there now, like 20?” Dee said. “… And each of the [candidates] makes their fans feel a certain way. And you can’t deny that when you watch it year after year, you become your own judge.”

“And when you see somebody perform so well and not get a placement you feel they deserve, it’s disheartening,” she continued. “It’s disheartening for anyone that wants to join or anyone that has joined because what’s the point of sending your best woman if the system is broken?”

“It’s like what happened to transparency? It’s just I feel like they’re kind of lost in the sauce,” she added, seemingly alluding to claims that the top 30 finalists were chosen before the competition even began, which the Miss Universe Organization previously denied.

When talking about their hopes for the future of the pageant, they weighed the possibility of Filipino politician and businessman Chavit Singson potentially acquiring the Miss Universe Organization. 

Singson and his daughter expressed their desire to own the pageant, and while Dee would be on board, she hopes they have the right intentions.

“I would love for the Philippines to have control over the Miss Universe franchise, but more so than just the Philippines, but an entity that knows, respects, and is just passionate about the brand that it has already established,” she shared.

Dee noted that she “finds it so sad” when people talk about the “glory days” of the Miss Universe pageant in the “past tense,” since it is still the “créme de la creme of pageantry.”

“To whoever actually wins the bid, we can only hope for the best,” she added.

In a statement released on its social media page earlier this week, the Miss Universe Organization addressed what it considered “false and misleading statements” about possible changes to the ownership of the brand. 

“The Miss Universe Organization remains under its current ownership and leadership,” the statement read, stating that it is reviewing the matter with legal advisers and will take “all appropriate and necessary steps” against misleading claims.

In the caption of the post, the organization stated, “With 75 years of legacy, global impact, and cultural relevance, we remain guided by the same leadership and values that define who we are. Our commitment to transparency, integrity, and our global mission continues to be unwavering.”

Last year, Itsaragrisil came under fire after confronting contestant Fátima Bosch during a gathering that was livestreamed on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

When Itsaragrisil addressed the Miss Universe contestants during the event, he stated that they were expected to “promote the host country. Be careful. You are in Thailand. You are in a game.”

He then called out Bosch for allegedly refusing to partake in a photo shoot for contestants to share on social media. He claimed that she wasn’t posting on orders from Mexico’s pageant director, which she stood up to deny. When she tried to explain, she was interrupted by Itsaragrisil, who demanded a verbal confirmation that she was willing to post about Thailand.

Multiple contestants followed after Miss Mexico when she left the room, but Itsaragrisil instructed them to stay. “If anyone wants to continue the contest, sit down,” he told them.

Many of the former pageant contestants came out in support of Bosch, who was later crowned Miss Universe 2025 on Nov. 21.

Several outlets reported that Itsaragrisil called Bosch a “dumbhead” during their confrontation; a representative for MGI issued a comment to PEOPLE responding to and denying the allegation.

“Miss Mexico wrongly claimed that Mr. Nawat called her ‘dumbhead,’ when he actually said ‘damage.’ Video evidence is available. She has never corrected the false accusation, which caused significant reputational harm to Mr. Nawat and triggered a series of escalating issues throughout the 74th Miss Universe event,” the MGI representative said.

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, the official Miss Universe Thailand Facebook page shared a post on behalf of MGI and Itsaragrisil, claiming he formally filed a criminal complaint against Bosch. The statement added that their intention was to “officially clarify” matters “with regard to the incident reported by multiple media outlets involving the interaction” between Itsaragrisil and Bosch last month.

“We wish to reaffirm that Mr. Nawat Itsaragrisil never called Ms. Fatima Bosch a ‘dumbhead.’ What he said was ‘damage,’ which is clearly audible in the voice recordings that have already been widely circulated across various platforms,” the social media post began.