Nawat insists Thailand and five nations will compete at Miss Universe 2026

Nawat Itsaragrisil has rejected a move to exclude Thailand and five other Southeast Asian countries from Miss Universe 2026, insisting that their delegates, including Thailand’s Tharina Botes, remain entitled to compete in Puerto Rico.

His comments came after a statement issued in the name of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) said franchise agreements involving Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore were not recognised by JKN Universe LLC and that their delegates would therefore be ineligible for the 75th Miss Universe pageant.

Nawat, chief executive of Miss Universe Eastern, told a press conference that all six delegates would travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and maintained that the exclusion notice had no legal effect.

He argued that such a major decision would require approval through the company’s governance structure and could not, in his view, be imposed unilaterally.

MU East disputes exclusion notice

MU East separately issued a formal statement on Friday (September 18, 2026), saying JKN Universe LLC, which does business as the Miss Universe Organization, operates under an equal 50:50 ownership structure between MU East and MU West through JKN Legacy Inc.

MU East said it had neither reviewed nor approved the earlier statement and maintained that it did not represent the agreed position of both owners.

It also cited the Hemisphere Agreement, saying MU East has exclusive rights to operate, promote and develop the Miss Universe brand across 95 Eastern territories and to appoint and manage franchise partners within those territories.

MU East said it maintains the contractual right to send eligible delegates from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore to the international pageant and does not accept that valid franchise agreements can be cancelled through a unilateral public statement.

Nawat said the dispute represented a breach of the Hemisphere Agreement and argued that neither side had authority to act beyond the territorial and governance arrangements set out in the contract.

Legal action threatened

Nawat also raised questions over financial and contractual arrangements surrounding the Puerto Rico event, including a reported US$9 million hosting agreement, payment classifications and transfers that he alleged had not received the necessary corporate approval.

Those allegations have not been independently established and remain part of an escalating dispute between the two sides.

He said legal advisers had reviewed the relevant documents on September 15-16 and gave the opposing side seven days, until midnight on September 25 Thailand time, to provide clarification and resolve the dispute.

If no progress is made, Nawat said the matter would be referred to international lawyers in New York for further legal action. He also said proceedings could involve courts in Delaware and New York.

Nawat made further serious allegations against an unnamed individual involved in the dispute. As no supporting court findings or independently verified evidence were presented in the supplied material, those claims are not reproduced as established fact.

Nawat says Tharina will compete

Nawat told pageant fans to preserve copies of the disputed statements as possible evidence for future legal proceedings.

Asked whether he personally would attend the competition in Puerto Rico, he said he would not, but insisted the contestants would.

“I am not going, but the contestants are definitely going,” he said, expressing confidence that Puerto Rico would welcome the delegates appropriately.

Tharina Botes was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2026 in August and is Thailand’s designated representative for the international competition.

The dispute therefore leaves the participation of the six delegates contested between the two sides of the Miss Universe ownership structure, with MU East maintaining that they remain eligible while the earlier JKN Universe LLC statement declared their franchise arrangements invalid.