Newly crowned Miss USA 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel has responded to allegations made by her fellow contestants that this year’s contest was rigged.
Gabriel was the first Filipino-American to win Miss Texas and made history again as the first to be crowned Miss USA. Since her historic win, Miss Montana Heather Lee O’Keefe has taken to TikTok claiming the contest was unfair and sharing her theories along with it.
In a series of videos, O’Keefe exposes different situations regarding the competition’s practices that she considers suspicious. She has also said that other fellow pageant contestants feel the same way, which would match up with why viewers noticed some beauty queens immediately walk off after Gabriel was crowned instead of giving the traditional congratulatory hugs.
"Bottom line is, most of the Miss USA contestants feel very strongly that there was favouritism towards Miss Texas USA and we have the receipts to prove it," she claimed in a TikTok video posted on Wednesday.
Since these statements were made, Gabriel has now spoken out.
"The current allegations are based on perception, and not the truth," she told People. "I would never want to enter a competition that was rigged."
"I know all of the contestants worked really hard to prepare and I don't want these allegations to overshadow the accomplishments of all the women who participated in this year's Miss USA competition," she said.
"I know how hard every woman worked and I want their efforts to also be acknowledged. At this time, I am excited to move forward with training for Miss Universe and all of the opportunities that the Miss USA Organisation will provide, while expanding on my personal platform for sustainable fashion and advocating for charity partners Best Buddies and Smile Train."
The Miss Universe organisation also issued their own statement about the claims, saying they would begin an investigation into it.
"We are aware of the concerns that have been brought forth by this year's Miss USA contestants. We commend the women for bringing these issues to our attention and will always be an organisation that encourages women to use their voice," reads the post that was shared on Instagram Stories.
"There are existing systems in place to ensure the fairness of our national competitions and as such we have begun an active review into this situation."
Gabriel, who beat 49 other candidates to succeed Miss USA 2021 Elle Smith, will represent her country at the Miss Universe pageant on January 14 in New Orleans.
Miss Universe 2022 beauty queens crowned, from Bahrain to Spain — in pictures
-
Miss Universe Turkey 2022 is Aleyana Sirin. Photo: Instagram / Aleyanasirinn -
Miss Universe Italy 2022 is Virginia Stablum. Photo: / Instagram / Virginia.Stablum -
Miss Universe Kyrgyzstan 2022 is Altynai Botoyarova. Photo: Instagram / botoyarova_altynai -
Evlin Khalifa, 24, is the second Miss Universe Bahrain. Photo: Miss Universe Bahrain -
Miss Universe Spain, Alicia Faubel, comes from Alicante and has lived in Dubai and the Philippines. Photo: Instagram / alicia.aliccia -
Divita Rai, 23, winner of India's Miss Diva Universe 2022. Photo: Miss Diva -
Sophiya Bhujel was crowned Oriflame Miss Universe Nepal 2022. Photo: Miss Universe Nepal -
Ndavi Nokeri, winner of Miss Universe South Africa 2022. Photo: Miss South Africa -
Anna Sueangam-iam was named Miss Universe Thailand 2022. Photo: Miss Universe -
Balsam Hussein when she was declared Miss Iraq 2022. Azhar Al-Rubaie for The National -
Yasmina Zaytoun after being crowned Miss Lebanon 2022 at Forum De Beirut. EPA -
Noky Simbani was crowned Miss Universe Great Britain 2022. Photo: Instagram / Miss Universe Great Britain -
Miss Ukraine 2022 is Viktoria Apanasenko, first runner-up from last year's contest. There was no pageant held this year owing to the war in the country. Photo: Instagram / Viktoria Apanasenko -
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Chau has been named Miss Universe Vietnam 2022. Photo: Facebook / Nguyen Thi Ngoc Chau -
Filipino-Italian beauty queen Celeste Cortesi was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2022 in Manila. EPA-EFE -
Bhutan is marking its pageant debut this year and Tashi Choden is the country's first beauty queen. Photo: Tashi Choden -
Laksmi Suardana took the Puteri Indonesia 2022 crown, becoming the first contestant from Bali to enter Miss Universe. Photo: Laksmi Shari De Neefe Suardana -
Miss Universe Ghana 2022 Engracia Afua K Mofuman was one of the first women to be crowned in 2022, in order to compete in the 71st Miss Universe pageant. Photo: Engracia Mofuman -
Hanna Kim, from Seoul, will represent South Korea in the next Miss Universe pageant. Photo: Hanna Ming -
The first and last time the Seychelles competed in Miss Universe was 1995 and so, after that 27-year hiatus, Gabriella Gonthier, from Mahe, will be representing her home country. Photo: Gabriella Gonthier/ Miss University Africa -
Amelia Tu, from Vancouver, winner of Miss Universe Canada 2022. Photo: Miss Universe Canada -
Miss Universe Jamaica 2022, Toshami Calvin, 26, is the cousin of Miss World 2019 Toni-Ann Singh. Photo: Instagram / officialmissuniversejamaica
