Former Miss Universe Lupita Jones said this Tuesday that the most famous beauty pageant in the world “has completely lost its way” due to the “particular” interests of the brand’s owners, the Mexican Raúl Rocha Cantú and the Thai Anne Jakkaphong, both investigated by the authorities of their countries for organized crime and fraud, respectively.
In an interview with EFE, Jones considered that Miss Universe currently “has lost its mission and vision of projecting women” because the owners have used the brand “to open doors” to “develop their own alternative businesses.”
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“I think that (Miss Universe) has completely lost its way, precisely because they have wanted to focus it on particular or very personal objectives, using the brand for things that have nothing to do with the brand,” said the winner of the pageant in 1991.
Jones considered that the contest is “universal heritage” because “it belongs to the world,” which is why the owners must “respect” it and be “transparent,” as the public “deserves.”
In addition, he noted that the recent accusations against Rocha and Jakkaphong, both with arrest warrants in their respective countries, “dirty the world of beauty pageants.”
“Obviously they stain it, obviously it affects people’s perception because if the heads are facing these types of accusations, it is logical that you think that everything permeates downwards,” emphasized the first Mexican Miss Universe.
In this regard, Jones questioned who is now in charge of Miss Universe, which he described as “an ethereal entity” without a head, as demonstrated by the fact that the Government of Puerto Rico – which would host the pageant in 2026 – is seeking a meeting with the directors to guarantee transparency in the next contest.
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“Who is Miss Universe? It’s an ethereal entity. Who are they going to sit down and talk to? Who are they going to sit down with to negotiate or renegotiate what they have to do? (…) Anne is unable to do anything. Raúl I want to assume that it is also because the accusation against him is quite serious,” he said.
The also president of the Mexicana Universal pageant also expressed that these accusations not only “hurt” her but also “make her afraid.” “We could imagine that things were bad but not how bad. And it does hurt and it’s scary,” he added.
Previously, in a press conference, Jones said that Rocha Cantú “should never have made it to Miss Universe” because “her mission for the brand is completely far from the vision that Miss Universe has.”
On the other hand, Jones defended the winner of Miss Universe 2025, the Mexican Fátima Bosch, by ensuring that she “is not a symptom of the illness that the pageant is going through.”
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“I believe that Fatima put on that crown from the moment the situation with Nawat (Itsaragrisil) arose (…) The message she gave seemed very powerful to me, I mean, nothing, no crown, no dream deserves your dignity,” he stated.
The Attorney General’s Office is investigating Rocha Cantú – now as a protected witness – as part of a case of alleged links to organized crime, particularly drug trafficking, huachicol (fuel smuggling) and arms trafficking.
While Jakkaphong is accused of a multimillion-dollar financial fraud, for which an arrest warrant was recently issued against her.
With information from EFE
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