Two Miss Universe judges have resigned days before the annual beauty pageant, with one of them accusing organisers of rigging the selection process.
Lebanese-French musician Omar Harfouch, who announced his resignation from the eight-member jury on Instagram, alleged that an impromptu jury had pre-selected finalists ahead of the competition, set to be held on Friday in Thailand.
Hours later, French football manager Claude Makélélé also announced he'd pulled out, citing unforeseen personal reasons.
The resignations come two weeks after several Miss Universe contestants walked out of a pre-pageant event over controversial comments made by an official from host nation Thailand.
An impromptu jury has been formed to select 30 finalists from among the 136 participating countries, without the presence of any of the real [eight] members of the jury, including me, Mr Harfouch wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, saying he had discovered this via social media.
The unofficial jury comprises individuals with a significant potential conflict of interest due to some personal relationships with some of the Miss Universe contestants, he claimed.
Mr Harfouch did not elaborate on how this impromptu jury would function, or how it would override the official jury's decision.
The Miss Universe Organisation on Tuesday put out a statement to rebuff Mr Harfouch's claims, stating that no external group has been authorised to evaluate delegates or select finalists.
It suggested that Mr Harfouch may have been referring to the Beyond the Crown programme: a social impact initiative that operates independently from the Miss Universe competition and has a separate selection committee.
The organisation further stated that Mr Harfouch's allegations had mischaracterised the programme.
Mr Makélélé, who also announced his resignation via Instagram, described it as a difficult decision. He praised Miss Universe for its values of empowerment and diversity.
Earlier this month, the pageant faced backlash after its Thailand director publicly berated Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch, prompting several contestants to walk out of the event.
The conduct of Mr Nawat, the Thailand director, drew criticism, leading the Miss Universe Organisation to send international executives to take over running the competition.
