Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch wins Miss Universe

BANGKOK: Fatima Bosch, representing Mexico, was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand on Friday, strutting to victory after the beauty pageant’s host had publicly chastised her, among several dramatic missteps in the run-up to the final stage.

Contestants from the Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Thailand and Venezuela also made it to the final round, selected from more than 120 women vying for the title of Miss Universe in a contest considered one of the “big four” of global beauty pageants.

But before Bosch was ultimately crowned, chaos reigned, from allegations of an insult to her intellect, to judges quitting and participants taking flops on and off the stage.

Bosch staged a dramatic walkout earlier this month, in an evening gown and high heels, from a meeting where she was lambasted by Thai organizer Nawat Itsaragrisil.

In a livestream of the event, Itsaragrisil seemed to single out Miss Mexico during a dispute over her apparent failure to post promotional content on her social media.

After Itsaragrisil called for security to intervene, Bosch staged a walkout flanked by Miss Iraq.

Other beauty queens appeared to rise in solidarity with Bosch, before freezing as Itsaragrisil warned those still wanting to participate should “sit down.”

“What your director did is not respectful: he called me dumb,” Bosch told reporters at the time. “The world needs to see this because we are empowered women and this is a platform for our voice.”

Itsaragrisil later apologized.