Victoria Theilvig stormed out of this year’s event after the pageant president attacked Miss Mexico for not showing ‘respect’.
The Miss Universe winner walked out of the live-streamed ceremony at the Miss Universe delegates’ hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, after the senior official berated Melissa Flores Bosch in front of dozens of other beauty queens.
Nawat Itsaragrisil, Vice President for Asia and Oceania within the Miss Universe Organisation, was confronting Bosch about her absence from a sponsor shoot earlier that day.
Nawat then asked Bosch to stand and ‘explain herself’ in front of the rolling cameras.
Nawat then took to the microphone to interrupt and reportedly call her ‘dumb’ and instructed security personnel to escort her out of the hotel event after she insisted on ‘using my voice’.
Bosch left the room and several other contestants also got to their feet seemingly ready to stage a walkout.
Theilvig is one of the pageant queens who storms out of the ceremony and later announced she would not remain in the venue.
‘This is about women’s rights,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry, we need to do something bigger. ‘We have respect for everyone, but this is not how things can be handled. ‘To trash another girl – it’s beyond disrespectful and it’s nothing I’ve ever done. That’s why I’m taking my coat and I’m going.’
