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Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado has come under fire after making racially insensitive remarks about Thailand and Asian features during a social media livestream on Wednesday (Nov 5).
The Venezuelan-American, who won the title in 1996, was weighing in on the controversy involving director of Miss Universe Thailand, Nawat Itsaragrisil, and Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch.
The now-viral incident unfolded when Itsaragrisil was caught on video reprimanding Bosch for not posting promotional materials of Thailand. He seemingly insulted her, saying: "If you follow the order from your national director, you're a dumb head."
Itsaragrisil later issued an apology, and claimed he had used the word "damage" instead of "dumb head".
In a portion of her livestream that was clipped and translated by some social media pages, Machado, now an actress and TV host, is seen criticising Itsaragrisil's behaviour, referring to him as "that despicable Chinese".
Responding to a netizen's comment attempting to correct her, she stated that "everyone with slanted eyes" – whether Chinese, Thai or Korean – are all "Chinese" to her, pulling at the corners of her eyes on camera to emphasise her point.
Some netizens say Miss Universe 1996 Alicia Machado's remarks on a livestream about the pageant controversy have gone too far. (Screengrab: Instagram/pageantempress)
She also reportedly questioned why Miss Universe 2025 is held in Thailand, calling the country's beaches "extremely polluted" and "disgusting".
The annual international beauty pageant will be held on Nov 21.
Among those who condemned Machado's rant was Filipino publicist and Miss Universe franchise owner Josh Yugen.
"It's shocking that in 2025, we still hear such ignorance. Thailand – one of the world's most welcoming, safe and sophisticated countries – deserves rspect, not mockery," he wrote on Instagram Stories, alongside a clip of her livestream.
He suggested that she should visit the country to see its "first-class hotels, world-class transport and warm-hearted people" before making comments.
"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, concluding with a call to "stop Asian hate".
Others have also pointed out the irony in Machado's remarks, especially since she spoke up against discrimination when United States president Donald Trump fat-shamed her in 2016.
