Men, burkinis, and plus-size contestants: Bankrupt Miss Universe goes off the rails with most ridiculous, woke pageant ever

A once-admired Miss Universe competition has become a running joke of woke progressivism with a multifaceted display of social justice during its latest pageant.

After it was revealed days prior to the event that Thai firm JKN Global, owner of Miss Universe, was filing for bankruptcy, accusations began surfacing that failures were due to the competition's new viewpoints.

"I think the outrage about a trans woman coming to Miss Universe and preaching, 'Bring the power back to women,' couldn't be more of an oxymoron," Emily Austin, a 2022 Miss Universe judge, told Fox News.

However, criticisms did not stop the company's transgender CEO, Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, from holding the most woke pageant that has ever been performed

Two pageant contestants for 2023 were men, including Miss Portugal Marina Machete. Machete came out to cheers from the crowd in El Salvador, accompanied by a statement about promoting inclusion and diversity.

The other male contestant, Miss Netherlands Rikkie Valerie Kolle, came onto the stage as a blooming flower to represent his evolution into "the proud woman" that was present on stage.

Miss Nepal Jane Dipika Garrett was also declared to have made history after she became the first plus-size model to participate in the pageant.

In reaction to placing in the top 20, Garrett said that she is "so proud to be representing real-sized beauty around the world and breaking the stereotypes of beauty pageants."

"So proud of the new Miss Universe and will forever cherish this season of my life that was life-changing!" she added, according to Fox News.

Not to be outdone, Miss Pakistan came out with not one but two secret social justice weapons. First, contestant Erica Robin became the inaugural woman in Miss Universe history to "wear a burkini on stage."

Robin appeared alongside bikini-clad competitors without showing any of her body, and while it is certainly strange for a pageant that includes a swimsuit competition, the contestant made a clear ideological choice in her attire.

Also, Robin later wore a headdress as part of her gown.

Of course, on her Instagram page the model has posed for photos showing skin in regular swimsuits.

Rounding out the display of diversity, Miss Spain Athenea Pérez was the first black woman to represent her country. This would normally not be notable, except that Pérez has made it her mission to "inspire people" through diversity.

Insider reported that the contestant is an advocate for racial equality and hollowly said that "diversity is here, and diversity is now, it's today."

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