Miss Grand International's Rachel Gupta Steps Down, Alleges Harassment

Yahoo

06-06-2025

Originally appeared on E! Online
Rachel Gupta has taken off her crown for the last time.
The former Miss Grand International 2024, who won the title in October, announced she was stepping down from the role due to mistreatment and harassment from Miss Grand International Public Company Limited (MGI), the organization behind the Thai beauty pageant.
"The whole time that I was working with Miss Grand International, the last seven months,' Gupta said in a May 28 YouTube video, 'I was constantly harassed, manipulated, ignored and left to fend for myself."
In addition to her allegations that she was made to sign a 'one-sided' contract and was often left without 'basic amenities,' the 21-year-old alleged that "immediately after winning, they moved me into a cramped hotel room, where all my suitcases couldn't open properly because there wasn't enough space."
Gupta then alleged she gained weight as a result of eating takeout food since "there were no pots and pans" in the lodging provided by MGI. And then, in turn, she said the organization ridiculed her because of her weight gain.
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'They were hounding me, constantly talking about my weight and my body," Gupta continued in the video. "They sent a representative to me, and he just comes up to me and starts pinching me in places. He's like, 'Oh, you need to lose weight here. You need to lose weight here.' It's so embarrassing. It makes you feel so small and so bad."
Ultimately, the beauty queen decided to relinquish her title after she said she was 'stuck' in Thailand with 'no security,' unable to return to her home in India, and felt unsupported by MGI during her time there, including after $1000 allegedly went missing.
'I realized, in that moment, that these people will never support me,' she said. 'Frankly they don't care if I live or die. As long as I'm there to smile at their events, as long as I keep my body super skinny, the way they like, they don't care if I live or die.'
Shortly after Gupta published her video, MGI announced on Instagram that they had revoked her title. Later, they refuted her allegations.
"Miss Grand International Public Company Limited (MGI) issues this formal statement in response to a series of false, misleading, and defamatory claims made publicly by Ms. Rachel Gupta, former Miss Grand International 2024," the organization said in a statement to People published June 5. "Her remarks, circulated via a video published on 28 May 2025, distort facts and misrepresent her contractual relationship with MGI—relying solely on emotional appeals and tearful storytelling without any physical evidence to support her claims."
In addition to emphasizing that Gupta's claims, including allegations directed at MGI's chief operating officer, were 'rejected in their entirety' by the organization, they noted their belief in the beauty pageant.
"MGI will not allow personal attacks or manipulative narratives,' the statement continued, 'to undermine the credibility of its executives or the integrity of the organization."
E! News has reached out to Gupta and MGI for comment and has not heard back.
Read on for more stars who were formerly beauty pageant winners.
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