Miss Universe Organization defends R'Bonney Gabriel as 'rightful' winner amid 'rigged' allegations
MANILA, Philippines — The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) denied that the beauty pageant was rigged by new owner Anne Jakrajutatip.
In a report by TMZ, MUO Chief Executive Officer Amy Emmerich denied the accusations, saying that a third party handled the results.
"One of the top four accounting firms in the United States handled the results and verified the process," Amy said.
Anne was accused of rigging because she also owns the Miss USA competition. Newly-crowned R'Bonney Gabriel won as Miss USA.
"The allegations re: rigging of Miss Universe are false. People saying that it's 'suspect' that JKN Global Group owns both Miss Universe and Miss USA aren't familiar with the history of the organizations," Amy said.
R'Bonney won the Miss Universe pageant last week, becoming the first Filipino-American to be crowned.
Amy said that R'Bonney was a "strong and dedicated contestant" who is the "rightful Miss Universe."
"The false rigging allegations are absurd and distract from the incredible milestones our organization and the delegates experienced this weekend," she said.
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