The Miss Universe saga continues. Nawat Itsaragrasil, director of Miss Universe Thailand, has filed a lawsuit against Miss Universe Fátima Bosch for defamation.
"We wish to reaffirm that Mr. Nawat Itsaragrisil never called Ms. Fátima Bosch a ‘brainless’ person. What he said was ‘damage,’ which can be clearly heard in the voice recordings that have been widely circulated across various platforms,” reads the legal document, translated from Miss Universe Thailand's official Facebook page.
The document claims that Bosch "immediately made false accusations to the media" upon leaving the room where the viral incident between them occurred. It continues to warn Bosch against making further defamatory statements, claiming that his team “will take appropriate legal action, to the fullest extent of the law."
The incident between Itsaragrisil and Bosch, explained
Nawat Itsaragrisil and Fatima Bosch clashed on November 4th, during the sashing ceremony hosted ahead of this year's Miss Universe competition.
On videos shared online, Itsaragrisil is seen speaking in a roomful of Miss Universe contestants, with Bosch leaving the room and being followed by other women. It was alleged that Itsaragrisil called Bosch a "dumbhead" and that he said, “If you follow your national director’s orders, you’re brainless."
According to Itsaragrisil and his team, he said the word "harmful" instead of brainless. The incident began because he allegedly criticized Bosch for not making posts about Thailand, the host country of this year's pageant.
Following their exchange, Bosch spoke with the media. “What your director did is disrespectful. He called me brainless because he has issues with the organization, and I don’t think that’s fair," she said. "I believe the world needs to see this, because we are empowered women, and this is a platform for our voice. No one can silence our voice, no one will do that to me."
Days later, Bosch ended up winning the pageant, becoming this year's Miss Universe. Still, it's been a win that's been mired in controversies, including allegations that the crown was fixed to promote business deals between Bosch's father and the businessman Raúl Rocha, who serves as the President of the Miss Universe Organization.
Speaking about her win, Bosch said that she worked just as hard as any other contestant at the competition. She also addressed former judge Omar Harfouch's claims, which suggested that the pageant was rigged and that her win was fake. “If he wanted more followers on Instagram, he should get into a show, a TV show maybe," she said on "Good Morning America."