Key Takeaways
- TLC’s three-part docuseries Crown of Deceit: Inside the Miss Universe Scandal explores allegations of rigged competitions, intimidation, secret nondisclosure agreements, and leadership failures through interviews with former contestants, judges, and insiders.
- Former judge Omar Harfouch details his resignation before the 2025 finals over alleged contestant preselection, which the Miss Universe Organization denied, while former Miss USA Noelia Voigt joins other pageant figures speaking out.
- The series also examines co-owner legal troubles and the 2024 Miss USA and Miss Teen USA resignations, and premieres Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.
Miss Universe has spent decades selling glamour, prestige, and the promise of a life-changing crown. Now, TLC is taking a closer look at what happens behind the scenes — and the allegations surrounding the pageant aren't particularly glamorous.
According to People, the network has announced a three-part docuseries, Crown of Deceit: Inside the Miss Universe Scandal. Featuring former contestants, judges, insiders, and whistleblowers, the documentary examines allegations of rigged competitions, intimidation, secret nondisclosure agreements, and leadership failures that have dogged the organization.
Among those speaking out are former Miss USA Noelia Voigt, former Miss Michigan USA Taylor Hale, and former Miss Indiana USA Brittany Mason. The series also features Omar Harfouch, the former Miss Universe judge whose resignation ahead of the 2025 competition helped ignite one of the biggest controversies in the pageant's history.
“In this smiling, sparkling, glittering organization, you start to see cracks,” People reporter Zoey Lyttle says in the trailer.
Those cracks became difficult to ignore during the 2025 Miss Universe competition in Thailand.
Harfouch abruptly resigned before the finals, alleging that an unauthorized group had selected 30 contestants in advance. The Miss Universe Organization denied his allegations, but the controversy intensified as other judges departed and questions about the competition's integrity continued to circulate.
“The girls, they were used, the flag of the countries, they were used. All of us, we were used,” Harfouch says in the documentary's trailer.
Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch ultimately won the crown, but the result did little to quiet the criticism. Miss Philippines Ahtisa Manalo, who finished third runner-up, later said that she believed the competition had come down to herself and Côte d'Ivoire's Olivia Yacé.
“I thought it was between Cote d'Ivoire and me during that night because I was able to hear everyone's answer,” Manalo said.
Yacé subsequently relinquished her Miss Universe Africa and Oceania title, while the Miss France organization ended its 73-year partnership with Miss Universe, citing concerns about the organization's direction. France will still compete in 2026 through a separate selection process.
The problems haven't been limited to the contestants.
Miss Universe president and co-owner Raúl Rocha faced scrutiny after Mexican authorities investigated allegations involving trafficking in drugs, weapons, and fuel. Authorities reportedly froze his bank accounts as part of the investigation. Rocha has not been convicted in connection with those allegations.
The documentary also revisits the Miss USA organization's troubles, including the 2024 resignations of Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava, whose mothers subsequently accused pageant leadership of mistreatment.
“Is this beauty pageant a scam, is this beauty pageant fraudulent, is it a big con job?” Lyttle asks in the trailer.
Crown of Deceit: Inside the Miss Universe Scandal premieres Thursday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.
