The Moment
One second, Miss Jamaica was floating down the Miss Universe runway like a sunset in sequins. The next, she was gone.
During the preliminary evening gown round in Bangkok, Thailand, Dr. Gabrielle Henry – Miss Universe Jamaica 2025 and a trained medical doctor – misstepped off the edge of the stage and plunged out of sight. Video from the live-streamed show captures the sound of the crowd gasping and screaming as audience members jump up to help.
Moments later, separate clips posted on social media show Henry being carried out on a stretcher. According to the Miss Universe Jamaica organization, she was rushed to Paolo Rangsit Hospital, where doctors determined she had no life-threatening injuries but kept her for testing and observation.
In a public statement, the Miss Universe Jamaica team asked fans to stay positive, pray for her, and send good thoughts while she receives care. No dramatic injury reveal, no drawn-out mystery – just a very real, very frightening fall that could have ended much worse.
The Take
I’ll say it: Miss Universe is starting to feel less like a pageant and more like a glamorous disaster drill.
First, you have a national titleholder in a glittering gown literally disappearing off the front of the stage. Then, in the same news cycle, there are reports of another contestant, Shiraz – a competitor who has openly spoken about her Jewish identity – saying she’s been flooded with death threats and antisemitic abuse online after a clip from the event went viral. According to her own social media, she’s getting messages as vile as people telling her “Hitler should have finished the job.” That’s not just messy fandom; that’s hatred.
Layer on top of that the footage from a separate live-streamed ceremony where Nawat Itsaragrisil, a regional vice president in the Miss Universe Organization, publicly confronts contestant Bosch over missing a sponsor shoot, then has security escort her out after she pushes back and insists on “using my voice.” Several fellow contestants stand up in solidarity and look ready to walk out before he frantically orders everyone to sit down. This is supposed to be an empowerment platform, not a reality show boardroom firing.
Put it all together and the vibe is clear: the pressure cooker is boiling over. Contestants are walking on a literal and metaphorical knife’s edge – in sky-high heels, under hot lights, with global politics and social media rage swirling around them.
The Miss Universe brand keeps selling “confidently beautiful.” But when a woman can’t even see the edge of the stage, is battling hate in her DMs, and risks being dressed down on camera if she pushes back, the glitz starts to look like camouflage for some very old-fashioned power dynamics.
If the pageant were a workplace, this would be the moment HR calls a meeting and someone finally measures the distance from the runway to the floor.
Receipts
Let’s separate what we know from what everyone is spinning.
Confirmed:
- Gabrielle Henry’s fall and hospital trip: Video from the preliminary competition in Bangkok clearly shows Miss Jamaica stepping off the front of the stage and falling. The Miss Universe Jamaica organization released a public statement confirming she was taken to Paolo Rangsit Hospital, is not suffering from life-threatening injuries, and is undergoing further tests.
- Audience reaction and stretcher footage: Multiple videos posted to social platforms show audience members screaming and rushing to help, and later show Henry being carried out on a stretcher.
- Online abuse toward contestant Shiraz: In her own Instagram posts and stories, Shiraz says she has received death threats and antisemitic slurs after a clip from the competition spread, calling the reaction “hatred” and pointing to comments referencing Hitler.
- The Bosch confrontation: A live-streamed Miss Universe-related ceremony filmed in Thailand shows Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly questioning contestant Bosch about missing a sponsor event, then ordering security to escort her out after she continues to speak. Other contestants can be seen standing up in apparent solidarity before he demands they sit.
MISS UNIVERSE 2025 JAMAICA HOSPITALISED AFTER FALL
Miss Universe Jamaica 2025 Gabrielle Alexis Henry is recovering in a hospital following a nasty fall during the 74th Miss Universe preliminary competition. #MissUniverse2025 #MissUniverse
Read: https://t.co/ufkzDo11TI pic.twitter.com/aKikqKHtd0
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) November 20, 2025
Unverified / Still Unclear:
- Whether Miss Jamaica will compete in the finals: As of publication, organizers have not formally confirmed if Gabrielle Henry will appear in the upcoming Miss Universe final. Any claims that she is definitively in or out are speculation until an official update lands.
- Internal discipline or policy changes: There has been no public statement yet about any internal review of stage safety, handling of online abuse, or how contestants are treated in sponsor events.
Sources: Official statement from the Miss Universe Jamaica organization posted on social media (Nov. 20, 2025); official live-stream of the Miss Universe Thailand preliminary events and related ceremony (Nov. 19-20, 2025); public posts from contestant Shiraz on her verified Instagram account (Nov. 2025).
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
Miss Universe is one of the world’s longest-running and most-watched beauty pageants, now more than 70 years old. Traditionally, contestants compete in swimsuit, evening gown, and interview rounds, with each country sending one winner to represent them. In recent years, the brand has tried to repackage itself as a women’s empowerment platform – relaxing some rules, talking more about advocacy, and spotlighting contestants’ careers and causes.
At the same time, it’s become a lightning rod. Between heated national politics, social media stan wars, and questions about how women are treated behind the scenes, the crown can feel as heavy as it is sparkly.
What’s Next
All eyes are now on Bangkok and on Gabrielle Henry’s recovery.
The Miss Universe final is scheduled for this weekend in Thailand, and fans are waiting to see whether Miss Jamaica is healthy enough – and willing – to return to the stage so soon after such a frightening fall. Expect an official medical or organizational update before showtime; they can’t just have cameras pan past an empty seat and hope no one notices.
Beyond one woman’s comeback story, the organization has some bigger questions hovering in the air like confetti that never quite hits the floor:
- Will Miss Universe publicly address stage design and contestant safety after Henry’s fall?
- Will they say anything stronger about the wave of online abuse and antisemitism contestants like Shiraz are facing?
- And will there be any acknowledgment of that tense, on-camera showdown with Bosch and the mini-revolt it sparked in the room?
The brand loves to talk about “modern womanhood.” A truly modern move would be to admit when the system is wobbling – and fix it before someone else goes over the edge, literally or figuratively.
So I’ll throw it to you: when you watch pageants now, do you still see a fun glamour show, or does the behind-the-scenes chaos change how you feel about the whole Miss Universe machine?
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