Anne Jakrajutatip has recently prohibited Miss Universe franchise holders from sending candidates to other international pageants.
The Thai business magnate, who currently owns the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), announced that she won’t allow other international titles to be involved with local franchises under the MUO, as seen in a video uploaded by established beauty pageant platform Missosology on Tuesday, Feb. 21.
“[The Miss Universe Organization] prefers to have just one stage for one beauty pageant brand,” Jakrajutatip said……“No other [beauty pageant] brands [can] be involved on the same stage,” the Thai mogul added.
What Anne Jakrajutatip Wants
Jakrajutatip resolutely wants countries that are sending their respective bets to the Miss Universe pageant to focus only on one international title.
“The winner goes to Miss Universe. The first runner-up, you go to this. The second runner-up, you go to that. I respect the work in the past 20 to 30 years. I admire what you have done, but this is the principle of the company and the organization,” Jakrajutatip said.
The controversial MUO owner likewise emphasized that national pageants should put Miss Universe as a “priority.”
“We must gain respect and we must be the first priority,” the tycoon added.
“Bidding” for a crown?
Vietnam’s Unicorp joined organizations from Ghana, Belize, Mauritius, Seychelle,s, and Indonesia in cutting ties with the Miss Universe Organization over the introduction of a new business model that required them to bid for the rights to host pageants in their countries.
Unicorp said it will continue to host the annual Hoa hau Hoan vu Viet Nam beauty pageant but would “suspend co-operation with Miss Universe.”
The decision was made “after a period of careful consideration and realizing that the new business orientations of Miss Universe were no longer consistent with the strategy and long-term development goals of Hoa hau Hoan vu Viet Nam,” it said.
In response
Jakrajutatip, whose JKN Global Group bought the rights to Miss Universe last year for a reported $20 million, has sought to clear the “drama” with an Instagram post, saying “something got lost in translation and information.”
“The request of submission was meant to give voice and agency to the current directors — a way that they can speak truth to what they believe their business is worth,” Jakrajutatip said.
“How can someone criticize something without getting the right info or interviewing anyone in the organization? Since when [did] the Miss Universe Organization say that the submission was all about the highest amount of money? It’s making no sense to me and it’s not my business integrity to do so,” the Thai mogul added with seeming exasperation.
Quo vadis Miss U?
It is not clear how this recent drama will affect the entire MU pageant scenario or the number of participating in forthcoming coming pageants. Since the rights to host national competitions are owned by private entities, there is a possibility that another organization can take over the rights and still send their country’s representative to Miss Universe.
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