Miss Universe 2025 drama deepens: Was contest rigged? Dubai's Miss Palestine Nadeen Ayoub calls out 'unjust' public polling

Dubai: Miss Palestine Nadeen Ayoub, who made history as the first woman from her country to participate at Miss Universe 2025, has publicly questioned the transparency of the Miss Universe app’s fan voting after an abrupt spike in votes shifted the results of the “Most Beautiful People” category shortly before it closed.

In a video posted on her social media pages on November 23rd night, she framed her concern as an issue of fairness rather than disappointment or defeat.

“I really want to address something very, very important,” she said.

“I’m someone that really stands for justice, I stand for what’s right, and I will stand up for what I believe is wrong.”

Her comments focused specifically on the app-based fan voting system, not on the judging or outcome of the pageant itself.

Miss Palestine explained that while other fan-voted categories on the Miss Universe app had closed and winners were announced, the “Most Beautiful People” category remained open.

“Lately, I was leading in the voting category on the Miss Universe app for the most beautiful people, and it was the only category on the application that didn't close, and they didn't award anyone out of all of the other categories, even though the competition was over,” she said.

According to her account, she remained in the lead until approximately 30 minutes before the scheduled closure. She said an unexplained shift happened in the final moments.

“Within two minutes, another contestant went up over 20,000 votes, which is very impossible to do unless there's more than one person voting, and it's not really realistic unless it's done internally.”

Miss Palestine did not name any contestant, and she did not accuse any individual of manipulating the vote. But the visuals show that Miss Tanzania was her rival.
Her focus was on the timing and scale of the numerical change.

“And I just find that this is very unjust. It's actually unjust that this was the only category still open, the one I'm leading.”

At the time of her statement, no official clarification had been provided publicly by Miss Universe about how the app votes were handled or how the sudden surge occurred.

Miss Palestine emphasised that her concern was not about losing a digital category or recognition. She framed her identity and role as her primary achievement.

“I just want to make something very clear, which is that this is not about the award. I've gotten the biggest award. I've gotten the biggest crown. I've gotten the biggest prize by being Miss Palestine, by being the voice of my people.”

She further described her participation on the Miss Universe stage as cultural and representative.

“I represented everyone's voice that wants to speak up, that wants to see justice, that wants to see beauty and culture and all the beautiful things that I represented on the international stage.”

In her statement, Miss Palestine made it clear that speaking publicly was a matter of principle.

“For me, I believe I'm already a winner, but when something does not seem right, it's a time where we have to speak up about it.”

She then linked her reaction to her identity and values.

“As a Palestinian woman, I will stand up for what's right. I will stand up for something that I see is wrong, whether it's for myself or for others, and this really feels not right.”

She did not express anger or hostility in her statement; her tone remained direct and composed.

Miss Universe has faced repeated public scrutiny regarding transparency in areas such as judging criteria and fan engagement tools.
Miss Palestine’s comments add a new example — not by alleging misconduct, but by highlighting inconsistencies in how the voting process unfolded.

Whether the vote surge was the result of automated systems, group mobilization, or other internal mechanisms is unclear.
Miss Universe has not issued a public explanation addressing her claims at the time of writing.

Her statement underscores a broader expectation shared by many audiences: if public votes are promoted as part of the competition, the method of counting and closing them should be consistent and transparent.

This year’s Miss Universe competition was also overshadowed by visible disruptions that fueled public criticism. Several contestants staged walk-outs . In a separate onstage incident, Miss Nigeria fell off the stage, prompting concern from both viewers and fellow contestants. The organizers later confirmed she received medical attention and assistance.

These incidents did not directly relate to Miss Palestine’s voting experience, but they contributed to widespread perceptions of a fractured event.