Fiji’s return to the Miss Universe beauty pageant after a lapse of 43 years is not without its share of drama. Miss Universe is the largest annual international beauty pageant in the world. It began in 1952 in California. Over the years, it has amassed a lot of interest and support from the public, making it the most watched pageant in the world. The Miss Universe pageant is one that most beauty contestant enthusiasts look forward to because of its wide coverage and the benefits that come with winning. These benefits include financial rewards, career opportunities, global fame, networking and connections, and personal development overall. Two-time Miss Universe judge and entrepreneur Yue Sai Kan once said that Miss Universe also acts as an agent for the finalists, putting them in films and advertising.
Qualifying for the Miss Universe pageant
To qualify, and participate in the international pageant, one must first win in the national pageant. This year the Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) announced that there would no longer be age restrictions for participants, removing the age rule for women to be between 18 and 28. “The Miss Universe Organization announces the elimination of all age limits across all Miss Universe and associated pageants – This change will apply for all 2024 pageants globally,” MUO said in their social media post. In 2022 MUO had removed restrictions on marital status and having children, allowing mothers and married women to enter the competition. Contestants must also be citizens of the countries they represent and must provide documented proof of citizenship.
Miss Universe Fiji (MUF) drama
On July 27, MUF announced that after 43 years, Fiji now had the opportunity to be represented again at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico in December. MUF also announced that Lux Projects Bali (Fiji), “an international property development company building residential and resort properties throughout Asia and the South Pacific”, was the MUF 2024 official licence holder. Previously, on July 19, MUO had made an official announcement on its Instagram page that Paris Jade was MUF national director. MUF invited interested candidates aged between 18 and 32 to register for the competition. This was publicised by some local media outlets. Entry guidelines listed on the official MUF website included the requirement that the applicant be of Fijian heritage, or a Fijian citizen and to be between the ages of 18 and 32. On August 15, MUF published the names of the top 10 finalists. MUF also announced the judges and the panel included MUF national director Paris Jade, MUF marketing, events and sponsorship director Grant Dwyer, The Pearl Resort & Spa general manager Natalie Marletta, Lux Projects Fiji representative Riri Febriani, Bollywood actor and talent mentor Raj Suri, USA on-Air TV Host, style and beauty expert Jennifer Chan and Seakeepers.org South Pacific director and marine biologist Melissa White. On August 30, Manshika Prasad was announced the 2024 Miss Universe Fiji at the MUF National Final held at The Pearl Resort & Spa Fiji in Pacific Harbour. Susan Ranadi and Nadine Roberts, a model and property developer from Sydney, were announced co-runners up. Three days later on September 2, MUF released a statement saying that Ms Prasad was incorrectly awarded the title and that it should have been Ms Roberts’ win instead. MUF said that there had been a tie of the eight votes and that the licence holder, Lux Projects, should have decided who the winner was. The statement also claimed that the contracted organiser, Grant Dwyer, only wanted “a Fiji-Indian winner to leverage potential global business deals”. Mr Dwyer released a counterstatement saying that Ms Prasad was the official MUF 2024 winner as all seven judges, including the Lux Projects’ representative, had voted in her favour. That same day Mr Dwyer’s contract with MUF was terminated by Lux Projects with Lux claiming that he had failed to appoint the judges fairly to ensure a fair and transparent voting process. Confusion reigned as international media also began to close in on the circus surrounding Fiji’s return to the pageant of pageants. On September 4, MUF released another statement saying that licensee Lux Projects had ended its licence agreement and ceased all funding of MUF events. It said it had planned a multi-year investment in MUF but due to the “incorrect winner being awarded on the night of the final” it had withdrawn all future financial support. The statement also suggested that MUO should now decide which delegate should represent Fiji. However, on September 6, a “media statement by MUF Licensee 2024 Fiji” again appeared on the MUF website saying that it was now considering that both Ms Prasad and Ms Roberts be disqualified as “neither of them lives in Fiji but reside outside the country”. The statement said that investigations into the controversy had revealed that Mr Dwyer was Ms Prasad’s manager, and this was why he allegedly “manipulated the results” in her favour. “The event organiser failed to disclose his agendas and conflicts of interest and organised six out of the eight judges, creating an obvious conflict of interest for the event organiser to manipulate the vote, not even informing the other judges of the eighth licensee vote”, it said. Meanwhile allegations also surfaced that Ms Roberts was in a relationship with Lux Projects owner Jamie McIntyre, an Australian-based entrepreneur. News articles on social media confirmed that the pair were indeed in some kind of relationship. Mr McIntyre was also featured in some videos posted on Lux Property Bali’s Facebook account, which The Fiji Times had seen last week. Then the account seemed to be suddenly removed from Facebook. However, Mr McIntyre issued a statement on his official X (or Twitter) account on Monday saying that he was “simply a shareholder in an associated company that they deliberately try to link to be deceptive, and adding a link by over a previous relationship, creating a nonsensical conspiracy theory”. “But let’s assume I was. If I was the licensee, the licensee is fully entitled to appoint all judges. If I wanted to rig the result then why wouldn’t I simply have appointed all eight judges, plus ensure they were all family, friends, associates, or business partners to ensure an outcome,” he said. “Yet I didn’t. I wasn’t involved, wasn’t a judge, wasn’t there and quite frankly have more important things to do then be judging a Miss Universe pageant, let alone own Miss Universe.” Ms Roberts had also mentioned in her response to a comment on her Instagram post that she and Mr McIntyre had separated 18 months ago. On Monday, MUF also released a statement saying that Ms Prasad has been disqualified because “it was found that only one party appointed majority of judges, being the now disgraced and terminated beauty pageant organiser, and Australian Grant Dwyer. He appointed six out of eight judges”. “The Fiji Indian contestant Manshika Prasad also stated on Instagram in recent days that she’s very grateful for her team Grant Dwyer and thanking him for all his efforts to date, thinking it’s OK for it to become public now he is managing her,” the statement said. In response, Mr Dwyer told this newspaper that Ms Prasad has no manager and that “it is for Ms Universe to advise and direct this process”. “The claims being presented are incorrect,” Mr Dwyer said. “We have been advised by the Miss Universe Organisation that they are dealing with Lux Projects Bali – MUF Licence holder at the highest level. What has been presented by Lux Projects Bali is false and defamatory and which my legal team will also be addressing. “This has been very sad for both Manshika, the other finalists, the judges, the sponsors, and Fiji. “The rightful winner was and is Manshika.” Responding to claims that he had appointed six of the eight judges, Mr Dwyer said that there were only seven judges and not eight. “Lux Projects posted the seven judges including a Lux representative Riri on the MUF and approved a pre-event press release acknowledging the judges. “One of the judges was the major sponsor, one of the judges was introduced by the major sponsor – USA based TV Personality, Beauty, and Fashion – who I had never met before. “One of the judges was the event charity partner, based in New Zealand who I had never met before. One of the judges is a highly respected photographer and runs his own events, and this person in question in no way is my business partner, rather an industry contact. “The other judge was the national director – who Miss Universe have reconfirmed in this role.” He said the judging process and judges selected were all pre-approved by Lux Projects and that the “judging process was conducted both fairly and ethically”. “This, Miss Universe have reviewed and acknowledged. “There was never an eighth judge.” With the Miss Universe pageant itself being only two months away, it seems that the ongoing drama between licensee holder Lux Property Bali and terminated contracted organiser Mr Dwyer will not end anytime soon. MUO have yet to make an official comment on the saga.
