Former Miss Grand International Rachel Gupta Speaks Out

Rachel Gupta, who recently gave up her Miss Grand International 2024 crown, has opened up in an emotional video about what she calls the dark side of the pageant world. In a nearly hour-long video on YouTube, the 21-year-old beauty queen from India shared her painful experience under the organization, pointing to unfair practices, mistreatment, and a lack of support.

Rachel began by painting a picture of a reign filled with emotional distress. She described being harassed, mentally exhausted, and treated poorly throughout her time with the MGI organization. One of the most striking claims she made was about vote-buying. According to Rachel, countries were able to pay for votes to help their candidates advance, and the organization allowed and even welcomed this practice.

She didn’t blame the countries that did it, saying they were just doing what they could to win. But she questioned how fair it was to contestants who couldn't afford to buy votes. Rachel firmly believes she won the title because of genuine public support, not money, since her country couldn't participate in this kind of system.

Apart from that, she opened up about the living conditions she endured while in Thailand. She said she was placed in a cramped hotel room with barely any food or necessities. What made things worse was the body shaming she experienced from pageant representatives. In one incident, a representative allegedly pinched her body and told her to lose weight, a moment she described as humiliating and hurtful.

Staying fit is part of the job, Rachel admitted, but how was she expected to do that with poor food and no access to proper facilities? On top of that, she revealed that she only received a stipend for one month, forcing her family to cover the rest of her expenses. She also expressed fear for her safety, referring to another titleholder who had reported sexual harassment and was ignored by the organization.

Rachel said she felt like she was being controlled through constant threats of being stripped of her title. In her words, it seemed like the organization didn’t care about her well-being as long as she kept smiling at their events. She made it clear that her decision to give up her title came after a long period of reflection and distress.

She ended her video by encouraging people to think twice about the organizations they support. According to her, Miss Grand International doesn’t truly value its queens, only using them until they’re no longer useful.

On the same day Rachel announced her resignation, MGI released their own statement saying she had failed to meet her responsibilities as a titleholder. But for many viewers and fans, Rachel's side of the story offered a disturbing look behind the glamorous curtain of international pageants.