Why Miss Universe 2022, R'Bonney Gabriel, is controversial in her home country

She won the ninth Miss Universe title for the United States and beat more than 80 stunning women from all over the world. Yet, R'Bonney Gabriel is a beauty queen whose victory caused controversy in her home country.

Millions of people watched on January 14, as R'Bonney -Miss Texas and Miss USA - won the coveted title of Miss Universe.

In the final, suspenseful round of the competition, she beat Miss Venezuela and Miss Dominican Republic. Historically, the country of the runner-up, Venezuela, tends to be a favorite in global beauty pageants. It has won seven crowns over the years, while the US now stands at nine.

Miss USA may have had the benefit of playing on her home turf: the contest was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is from neighboring Texas herself.

R'Bonney Gabriel, Miss Texas, had been crowned Miss USA on October 3, 2022. The election was not without controversy. 

Image: @rbonneynola / Instagram

The beauty queen was born in Houston, Texas, on march 20, 1994. Her father is originally from Manila, Philippines, while her mother is American.

Gabriel went to the University of North Texas, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in fashion design. In the past years, she has worked as a designer of eco-friendly clothes while also making a living as a model. 

The Texan beauty queen would explain at the Miss USA pageant that she herself had made the outfit she was wearing. "I upcycle pieces and recycle different clothing to be more sustainable in my industry because I feel like it's my duty."

R'Bonney started her pageant life in 2020 when she made it to the top 5 of Miss Kemah USA. Then, after two subsequent attempts, she managed to become Miss Texas.

R'Bonney's victory was a milestone because she was the first Asian-American woman to get the title of Miss Texas USA. As Miss Texas, R'Bonney went on to compete for the Miss USA title.

From afar everything seemed to be going great in the Miss USA pageant. R'Bonney's costume representing Texas was considered the best state costume of the competition. 

Convincingly, R'Bonney won the title and crown of Miss USA 2022.

Images: @missusa / Instagram

However, despite her great performance in various sections of the competition, there was some controversy when R'Bonney Gabriel was finally crowned Miss USA 2022.

Image: @missusa / Instagram

In fact, while she was being crowned, some of the other participants just left the stage. They claimed there had been fraud in the selection of the winner.

The source of the controversy had to do with the owners of the pageant. Actress Crystle Stewart obtained the license for the pageant in 2020. According to The Washington Post, suspicions arose of preferential treatment by Stewart.

Crystle Stewart heads Miss USA's umbrella corporation, 'Miss Brands.' This company was accused of giving preferential treatment to Miss Texas, The Washington Post reported.

Image: Crystle Stewart / Instagram

In response to the accusations, the Miss Universe Organization quickly took the organization out of Stewart's hands and began an investigation into what happened at the Miss USA election. 

In the image: Crystle Stewart

The companies Miss Academy and med spa Mia Beauté are owned by Stewart. Both are based in Houston where R’Bonney Gabriel lived, Insider explains.

As reported by Insider, Miss Texas appears in the same social media circles (Facebook and Instagram) as Mia Beauté founder Phi Nguyen, who was also a judge of the Miss USA 2022 state costume contest. 

Miss DC told The Washinton Post that "the girls, including myself, felt disrespected because R'Bonney was very close to the staff members and directors of the pageant, and they were blatant about that. She also had personal ties with a judge who scored the costume competition..."

Image: @missusa / Instagram

Miss Montana was cited in 'Insider' as telling 'Good Morning America' that the coaching school of Mis USA had "sponsored all of the contestants but gave an extremely more generous amount to Miss Texas."

For the duration of the investigation, Crystle Stewart was suspended by Miss Universe. She said she was cooperating and "eager for all of the claims to be disproven," according to The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, R'Bonney enjoyed her victory as Miss USA and prepared for the Miss Universe pageant in the second week of January 2023. She had only three months to do so, and her participation wasn't even 100% guaranteed, due to the allegations of favoritism.

Just a week before the Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans began, the Miss USA organization published its conclusion from the investigation into its national pageant. It stated that "there was 'no rigging' during the 2022 pageant," the Daily Mail reported.

Image: still from video @missusa / Instagram

After the investigation, R'Bonney could move on to the Miss Universe stage without any more hurdles. She was praised all over the world and even became a bookmakers' favorite.

On the evening of January 14, 2023, the big moment arrived and R'Bonney was declared the most beautiful woman in the world. She would be wearing the Miss Universe crown until the next pageant in November 2023.

Image: @rbonneynola / Instagram

Yet, some of her national competitors are still bitter about the way she became Miss USA in the first place. In a statement published on the Instagram account of Mikala McGhee, they repeat that there was "favoritism" and "conflicts of interest within the system" of the Miss USA contest. They say the organization never properly investigated the allegations.

The Miss USA Class of 2022 also says that R'Bonney is "collateral damage - as we all are - in a corrupt system's grand scheme to exploit women at our expense." Their statement shows that a shadow continues to hang over R'Bonney Gabriel's victory as Miss Universe.