This year’s season of Miss Universe adds yet another piece of drama to its list: Miss Universe Organization president Raul Rocha claiming that Miss Côte d’Ivoire Olivia Yacé lost due to her passport.
On November 25, in a video interview with journalist Adela Micha, the president noted that there are “many things that are evaluated” when selecting the pageant champion. Rocha then argued that Yacé, who finished as this year’s fourth runner-up, would have been ineligible for the pageant’s top spot due to her passport allegedly requiring a visa for 175 countries.
“The job is for a year of [being] Miss Universe,” said Rocha in Spanish. “… so she’s going to be the Miss Universe who spent a whole year in an apartment because of the cost of visa processes, of lawyers. Some of the [visas] require six months’ notice. Well, the year’s already gone, right?”
Rocha also stressed how the pageant titleholder entails being the one “who travels the most and has the most contact with people in the world.” He then added how this would be difficult to achieve with a passport that requires visas for 175 countries.
Rocha’s comments on Yacé come shortly after the pageant queen officially renounced her title of Miss Universe Africa and Miss Oceania, as well as any future affiliations with the pageant’s committee. “Stepping away from this diminished role… will allow me to dedicate myself fully to defending the values I hold dear,” she wrote.
As of writing, Yacé has yet to respond to Rocha’s comments. However, fellow contestant Miss Guadeloupe, Ophély Mézino, shared her opinions on Rocha via Instagram Stories. “Did you steal the money of my Afro-Caribbean girls?” Mézino wrote. “Did you let them compete knowing they would never win this competition?” She also stated that Yacé reportedly has an American passport, making Rocha’s comments about visa concerns baseless.
In the same video interview, Rocha also claimed that he is looking to “pass the baton” that is Miss Universe, an organization in which he is a 50 percent stakeholder. “It’s just that I’m so fed up,” said Rocha. “I’m so fed up with all the talk. I don’t lend myself to that kind of thing.”
