One of the judges for Miss Universe has dramatically resigned from his position just days before the coveted competition, as he brandished the event a ‘charade.’
Omar Harfouch, a Lebanese composer and musician, announced his resignation from the Miss Universe judging panel three days before the pageant.
He claimed his decision was because an ‘impromptu jury’ with ‘a significant potential conflict of interest due to some personal relationships with some of the Miss Universe contestants’ had been formed to secretly select the contest’s 30 finalists.
Harfouch said the supposed conflict of interest included the person ‘responsible for counting and the votes and managing the results.’
He apparently decided to resign and ‘refuse to be part of this charade’ following a ‘disrespectful conversation’ with Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha.
Harfouch accused the pageant of lacking transparency in the Miss Universe voting process.
The pianist added: ‘I will also not be playing the music I composed for the event.’
Omar Harfouch announced Tuesday that he would be resigning from the Miss Universe judging panel
Harfouch said an ‘impromptu jury’ with a ‘potential conflict of interest due to some personal relationships’ with contestants had been formed to secretly select the pageant’s 30 finalists
Harfouch claimed that he had discovered the ‘impromptu jury’ through social media, as he announced his resignation on Instagram.
On Monday, the Miss Universe pageant had posted this year’s ‘Beyond the Crown’ selection committee, which featured eight ‘distinguished leaders and innovators’ – and did not include Harfouch.
Harfouch ripped the contest’s list for not specifying ‘the role played by these individuals’ and supposedly sowing more confusion about this year’s pageant.
He accused the organization of not including ‘any of the real eight members of the jury’, including himself.
The Miss Universe pageant said Harfouch had ‘incorrectly suggested’ that an unauthorized committee had been formed and that official judges had been excluded from the process of selecting finalists.
An official statement published Tuesday read: ‘Given Mr. Harfuch’s [sic] expressed confusion, his public mischaracterization of the program, and his stated desire not to participate, the Miss Universe Organization respectfully acknowledges his withdrawal from the official judging panel.’
The pageant added that Harfouch was banned from ‘using, displaying, referencing or associating himself’ with the Miss Universe brand ‘effective immediately.’
The Lebanese composer said he had resigned following a ‘disrespectful conversation’ with Miss Universe owner Raúl Rocha
The organization said the ‘Beyond the Crown’ committee was an ‘independent social impact initiative’ separate from the Miss Universe competition’s official judging.
Their statement added: ‘The Miss Universe Organization reiterates that all judging procedures for the 74th Miss Universe competition remain official, transparent, and fully governed by MUO protocols.’
However, Harfouch’s allegations were ‘heartbreaking’ for one anonymous Miss Universe contestant, according to PEOPLE.
She accused the organization of selecting a preliminary top 30 ‘without the presence of the official judges’ and ‘before we’ve even competed on stage.’
‘We thank Omar Harfouch for standing up for integrity when the organization would not,’ she reportedly told the outlet.
‘He showed the very leadership Miss Universe claims to celebrate.’
The Daily Mail reached out to Harfouch and the Miss Universe organization for further comment.
This is a breaking news story.
