The licensee for Miss Universe Fiji has terminated its contract with the organizer of the 2024 Fiji Miss Universe event due to a breach of protocol that led to confusion and controversy during the crowning night, when the wrong contestant was mistakenly declared the winner.
In a recent statement, Miss Universe Fiji (MUF) explained that the event licensee has the authority to appoint all judges, but only one judge was appointed from their side to oversee the fairness and transparency of the process. MUF had entrusted the contract organizer with the responsibility of appointing additional judges without any pre-existing bias, ensuring that the voting process would be conducted fairly.
However, MUF stated that this trust was misplaced, noting that the organizer did not account for the licensee’s vote, resulting in a tie between the top two contestants with four votes each. The organizer prematurely declared their preferred winner rather than consulting the licensee, who is meant to select the winner in the event of a tie.
An internal review revealed that the voting process was not conducted privately, raising concerns that judges could have been influenced in favor of a predetermined winner. As a result, MUF is considering legal action against the organizer for tarnishing the event’s reputation and has expressed apologies to the two finalists for the resulting distress caused by the organizer’s failure to uphold proper protocols.