PUBLISHED ONNovember 07, 2025 11:57 AMBYDana LeongMiss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado, is facing backlash after displaying racist behaviour during a social media livestream on Wednesday (Nov 5).
The former pageant queen was commenting on the Miss Universe 2025 controversy, which involved the Miss Universe Thailand director, Nawat Itsaragrisil, who had allegedly called Miss Universe Mexico Fatima Bosch "dumb".
A clip of the livestream was uploaded to Facebook, showing the 48-year-old Venezuelan criticising Itsaragrisil's behaviour and referring to him as "that despicable Chinese".
Comments by viewers attempting to correct Machado at the time were also dismissed.
Instead of accepting the mistake or correcting herself, Machado said that "everyone with slanted eyes" — whether Chinese, Thai or Korean — is "Chinese" to her.
Machado even took off her sunglasses and pulled at the corners of her eyes when making the comment.
During the same livestream, Machado also questioned the decision to host the annual Miss Universe contest in Thailand.
She continued making derogatory remarks towards the Asian country, saying that it has "horrible" and "extremely polluted" beaches in Phuket that only look good because of Photoshop.
At the same time, she appealed to Raul Rocha, president of Miss Universe Organisation, saying that he should bring the competition to the Dominican Republic.
Chelsea Rose Mandizha, who is Miss Grand Zimbabwe, commented on Machado's remarks, saying that her disrespect towards Thailand is "going too far".
Filipino publicist and Miss Universe franchise owner Josh Yugen also voiced his disapproval of Machado's comments.
"It's shocking that in 2025, we still hear such ignorance," he said in an Instagram Story posted on Thursday.
"Thailand — one of the world's most welcoming, safe and sophisticated countries — deserves respect, not mockery," he wrote.
"Her words are proof that racism is still alive and we must continue fighting it — not with hate, but with education. Unfollow ignorance," he added.
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