In Bangkok, Thailand, Vietnamese beauty queen Huong Giang joined contestants at the MGI All Stars 2026 first semifinal round - a stage featuring two of the season’s most challenging categories: evening gown presentation and the makeup-free challenge. With only three days left until the grand finale on May 30, contestants are now under pressure to demonstrate their full capabilities in the race for a place in the top 18.

Huong Giang impressed audiences in a striking purple evening gown decorated with transparent crystal and acrylic 3D flowers, creating the effect of blooming floral clusters across the dress. Her red-pink gemstone jewelry stood out vividly against the purple fabric, adding depth to the overall look.

On stage, the 1991-born beauty queen delivered a confident catwalk performance with controlled movements, graceful handling of the gown’s train and strong interaction with the cameras. The visual effect of two butterflies flying around her created the image of a fairy-tale princess.

Following the evening gown segment, Huong Giang was announced as the winner of the World’s Choice Award, recognizing the competition’s top fan favorite.

MGI All Stars’ live scoring system, displayed publicly on screen, showed the following scores from the judges for Huong Giang’s evening gown performance: Osmel - 8.5, Jojo - 10, Abena - 9.8, Isabella - 9.2, Omar - 9.5, Natalie - 9.3, Lupita - 8.5 and PSI - 8.5, giving her an average score of 9.16 out of 10. Notably, judge Jojo awarded the Vietnamese representative a perfect 10.

Entering the makeup-free challenge - a category requiring contestants to appear completely without makeup - Huong Giang changed into a nude champagne-toned sheer dress embellished with sparkling stones. She wore her hair naturally loose and appeared on the livestream with bare skin, delicate facial features and a calm expression.

However, the scores for the makeup-free segment immediately triggered controversy. The judges gave the following scores: Osmel - 7, Jojo - 9.8, Abena - 10, Isabella - 9.2, Omar - 5, Natalie - 8.7, Lupita - 8 and PSI - 7, resulting in an average of 8.09 out of 10.

Judge Omar’s score of 5 shocked many viewers, as it was significantly lower than Abena’s perfect 10 for the same performance and far below the panel’s overall scoring range. The dramatic gap quickly sparked heated discussion on social media, with many pageant fans arguing that Omar’s score did not accurately reflect Huong Giang’s actual performance.

Today, May 28, Huong Giang will continue competing in the second semifinal round featuring the bikini and runway categories.