Six Southeast Asian countries caught in franchise dispute

Miss Grand International (MGI), headed by Thai businessman Nawat Itsaragrisil, has confirmed that representatives from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos will not participate in the 75th Miss Universe competition in Puerto Rico this November.

The organization said it could no longer guarantee the contestants' standing, dignity, safety or equal treatment at the international event.

The decision follows a dispute over franchise rights between the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), its operating entity JKN Universe LLC, and Miss Universe Eastern Pte. Ltd. (MU East), a company associated with Nawat.

The disagreement became public in September, when JKN challenged the validity of franchise agreements covering the six Southeast Asian countries and maintained that their representatives were not eligible to compete.

In a statement issued on September 18, JKN said MU East was neither an authorized operator of the Miss Universe brand in those markets nor entitled to grant national franchises.

It argued that Nawat had no authority to sign the agreements and reserved the right to pursue civil or criminal legal action against individuals or organizations spreading what it considered misleading information about the brand.

MU East rejected those claims, citing contractual arrangements that it said granted it exclusive rights to operate, promote and develop the Miss Universe brand across 95 territories in the eastern region, including the authority to appoint national franchise holders.

The company maintained that six legitimately selected contestants from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore had contractual rights to participate and should not be disadvantaged by disagreements between the brand's ownership partners.

According to MU East, JKN Universe LLC is jointly owned through JKN Legacy Inc. by MU East and MU West on a 50-50 basis.

It argued that the September 18 statement had not been reviewed or approved by MU East and therefore could not represent a unified position of both owners.

MU East also cited a regional operating agreement, known as the Hemisphere Agreement, which it said prevents either side from issuing unilateral global statements on behalf of Miss Universe without written agreement from both parties.

The company said its operating rights had been exercised through Legacy Holding Group S.A. de C.V. in El Salvador, which appointed Miss Universe Eastern as an operator under MU East's authority rather than as an owner of the brand.

The dispute has its roots in an announcement reported by Thai media on May 5 that MGI had obtained Miss Universe franchise management rights in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos for the 2025-2029 period.

That development followed the April 16 departure of Valentin Tran, the previous Miss Universe Vietnam franchise holder, who had expressed dissatisfaction with what he considered a lack of transparency in the handling of the Beyond the Crown voting results.

On August 15, MUO stated that Nawat held no executive, operational or legal position within the organization, recognizing him only as a franchise partner.

On September 9, it again rejected his claims while reaffirming that the 75th Miss Universe competition would proceed in Puerto Rico as scheduled.

Despite the escalating disagreement, Nawat said on September 18 that the contestants would definitely travel to Puerto Rico, even if he did not attend.

The latest decision reverses that expectation.

MGI stressed that keeping the six representatives out of this year's competition should not be interpreted as a voluntary withdrawal or a surrender of contractual rights.

It said the beauty queens would retain their national titles and continue their reigns at home, while the organization would pursue measures, including possible legal action, to protect the interests of the contestants and its business partners.

Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore contestants respond 

Miss Universe Thailand 2026 Tharina Botes thanked supporters in an emotional message following the announcement.

"Sometimes, life doesn't unfold the way we imagined," she wrote, adding that she had learned that periods of uncertainty do not necessarily represent setbacks or lead people further from their dreams.

Botes emphasized that her journey was far from over.

"This is not the end of my story. It's simply a new chapter," she said, expressing confidence that greater opportunities remain ahead.

Miss Universe Malaysia 2026 Euni Wong also maintained an optimistic outlook and publicly supported Nawat's decision.

She thanked those who had reached out to her and said she believed everything happened according to God's will.

Wong said she appreciated Nawat's efforts to protect the contestants and was uncomfortable with the idea of the women being treated as a group of unwelcome participants.

"As a woman with self-respect and dignity, I would never allow myself to go somewhere I am not welcome," she wrote.

She added that the situation would give her more time to prepare for Miss Universe 2027.

Miss Universe Singapore 2026 Vion Erico Tan offered a shorter response, posting a photograph with representatives of the affected countries and an optimistic message that the situation marked not an ending but a beginning.

Indonesia and Laos had not confirmed their representatives when the announcement was made, as their national selection processes had either not begun or were still underway.

Vietnam's Quynh Anh disappointed after completing preparations

In Vietnam, Pham Duy Khanh, head of the Miss Universe Vietnam 2026 organizing committee, confirmed that he had received notice of the decision.

He said the national organization was dependent on the franchise rights holder and therefore had to accept losing its opportunity to compete at Miss Universe this year.

Khanh added that if the competition continued in future seasons, the Vietnamese organizers would seek to work directly with the international rights holder rather than through an intermediary.

The licensing dispute had already placed Miss Universe Vietnam 2026 in a difficult position ahead of its national final in Hai Phong, originally scheduled as part of a competition running from September 20 to October 2.

The edition was organized under rights granted by Nawat's side and had attracted controversy over changes to contestant eligibility rules.

Organizers initially expanded participation to include married and divorced women and mothers, before revising the rules in early September to exclude transgender contestants.

For Quynh Anh, the newly crowned Miss Universe Vietnam 2026, the international exclusion was particularly disappointing after extensive preparation.

Speaking to the media, she said she had waited a long time for the opportunity to represent Vietnam on the global stage.

She and her team had already prepared application documents, selected outfits, completed promotional photo shoots and submitted materials to the international organizers.

Her visa had also been finalized ahead of a planned departure in November.

Although she admitted feeling disappointed, Quynh Anh said she did not regard the development as a personal failure.

Instead, she intended to use the experience as motivation to continue improving herself while hoping for another opportunity at next year's competition.

Miss Universe 2026 to proceed with up to 120 contestants

According to MUO's latest announcement, Miss Universe 2026 is expected to feature up to 120 contestants during a 17-day program in Puerto Rico.

Participants are scheduled to gather from November 8 for rehearsals, group activities, cultural experiences and tourism events.

The three principal competition nights will take place at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan.

The national costume competition is scheduled for November 21, followed by the preliminary competition on November 22 and the 75th anniversary final on November 24.

MUO opened online voting on October 15, with the contestant receiving the highest number of votes guaranteed a place in the Top 30.

The voting platform currently does not list representatives from the six Southeast Asian countries whose franchise rights are controlled by Nawat's side.

With the competing organizations continuing to defend conflicting interpretations of their contractual rights, the dispute has left the affected contestants unable to take part in this year's event despite their national titles and preparations.

For Quynh Anh and her fellow beauty queens, attention now turns to their remaining national commitments, future opportunities and whether the underlying franchise disagreement can be resolved before the 2027 competition.

Huy Minh