Miss Global 2019

Accusations of Fraud at Miss Global 2019

Allegations of preferential treatment, an inappropriate relationship and fraud are casting a shadow on the Miss Global pageant and its newly crowned winner. Contestants, many who wish to remain unnamed, recounted their experiences with Pageant Planet.

Contestants said during their two weeks in Oaxaca, Mexico they noted continual, preferential treatment of Miss Mexico to include a private suite and a team of hair and makeup artists. Other contestants shared hotel rooms and artists.

"From the onset, it was clear that the host country’s contestant was offered special allowances: able to come late to rehearsals or not at all, personal assistants, makeup artists, hair stylists while many of us [weren't] offered the same luxury; often hearing that there were not enough hair/makeup artists to service us contestants," said Miss Global Bahamas, Jerchovia Moxey.

The contestants stated pageant CEO Van Pham told them in the days leading up to Saturday’s finals that the pageant’s in-country sponsor was attempting to force him to fix the outcome for Miss Mexico. The women said they were informed 25 would advance to semi-finals, instead of 20, which they believed was to appease the sponsor and allow Mexico to be called.

The so-called Top 25 were called and competed in sportswear, with that score to be combined with preliminary scores to determine the Top 10, according to the contestants. The contestants told us they were informed backstage that scores for the Top 11, which included a wildcard vote, were miscalculated. One contestant said specifically that the Top 10 placements had been based on sportswear alone, not sportswear plus the preliminary scores. The women said they were told there would be a Top 18, to accommodate the contestants who would have made the cut had the scores been properly calculated.

One contestant stated Pham and the sponsor were arguing prior to the announcement of the Top 5, presumably over Mexico’s placement. She said that prompted Miss Colombia to defend Pham onstage, under the impression that the sponsor was pressuring Pham. This same contestant also told us the women later learned, from judges, there was no scoring beyond the Top 18 and that Pham hand-picked the Top 5. The women told us the pageant was abruptly cancelled, but a Top 5 was eventually selected.

Several online videos show Miss Colombia yelling onstage while contestants walked off of the stage. The contestants shared that many of the contestants left discouraged and frustrated by the night's events.

"Confused and angry many of my fellow contestants were disgusted by the night's events, packed up their things and left to go back to the hotel; it was after 2am after all," Moxey said. "After a cluster of confusion, I packed my things along with my sisters frustrated and discouraged by the whole ordeal."

With conflicting accounts of which person may have influenced or attempted to influence the results, Pham issued the following statement to Pageant Planet:

“During this year’s telecast Ramiro Gutierrez, our host country sponsor who is not associated with our organization, put pressure on the organization to favor the home country candidate, Miss Mexico. This violates our rules, integrity, and ethics. When we informed Mr. Gutierrez of our unwillingness to compromise our integrity, he immediately pulled the plug on the telecast.

We appreciate Miss Colombia’s public protest against Mr. Gutierrez's pressure campaign and the need to uphold the rules and procedures that Miss Global has always honored.

In addition, the Mexico-based CPA firm overseeing the results informed us of an error in its calculations from the prior weeks’ scoring. Fortunately, this error was detected early and did not impact the final results. While we were forced to halt the competition by Mr. Gutierrez's actions, we made the decision to crown the highest scorer at that point in the competition, Miss Czech Republic.”

Our team is attempting to reach Gutierrez for comment. A contestant told us it was Gutierrez who checked on the women and paid for their transportation to the airport, after Pham and pageant staff took flights out of Mexico, leaving the women stranded at the hotel.

Fellow contestants are also leveling allegations at the eventual winner, accusing her of an inappropriate relationship with the host. The women told Pageant Planet the host was seen entering Miss Czech Republic’s hotel room over the course of their stay and that her roommates told her he could not be there. Miss Czech Republic did not respond to request for comment.

Pham stated that Miss Global relies on free and fair scoring and that the organization will protect its integrity.

Miss Global 2019 Results

On January 19, 2020, Karolína Kokešová was announced as Miss Global 2019!

The remaining Top 5 contestants for Miss Global 2019:
1st runner-up - Hany Novoa
2nd runner-up - Adrielle Castro
3rd runner-up - Riza Raquel Santos
4th runner-up - Mikaela Rose Fowler