Second runner-up demands to return crown, says organizers offered $2 to buy prize

(Dan Tri) – The National Director of Miss Grand Myanmar said that the fact that beauty Thae Su Nyein only won second runner-up was unfair and announced to return the crown. He also revealed that he spent 2 USD to buy the secondary prize.

The final of the Miss Grand International 2024 pageant took place on October 25 with the victory belonging to the Indian beauty – Rachel Gupta.

The titles of 10st runner-up belonged to the beauty of the Philippines, 1nd runner-up belonged to Myanmar, 2rd runner-up belonged to France and 3th runner-up belonged to Brazil. This is considered a reasonable result, supported by the majority of the audience.
Myanmar beauty Thae Su Nyein won the second runner-up prize at the Miss Grand International 2 pageant on October 2024 (Photo: MGI).

However, right after the final, the Myanmar beauty expressed dissatisfaction with the final result. Myanmar representative Thae Su Nyein only won second runner-up, although before the final, she was highly appreciated by the media and magazines.

Immediately after the final night, the National Director of Miss Grand Myanmar – Soe Min Tun – removed the crown and took the Myanmar beauty away from the event. Second runner-up Thae Su Nyein was seen crying as she was taken away.

She was absent from the press conference of the Miss Grand organization after the final night. On the afternoon of October 26, at the event where the top 10 met with the President of Miss Grand – Mr. Nawat, Thae Su Nyein also did not appear.

This action of the National Director of Miss Grand Myanmar has met with mixed controversies. Many people think that Mr. Soe Min Tun’s actions are not good, and have seriously affected the image of the contest.

However, fans in Myanmar supported Mr. Soe Min Tun’s actions, flooding the Miss Grand President’s personal page and the contest’s social networking site to leave angry comments.
Beauty Thae Su Nyein sobbed on stage after winning only the second runner-up title (Screenshot).

On October 26, Mr. Soe Min Tun livestreamed the entire incident on his personal channel. He announced that he would return the second runner-up crown to beauty Thae Su Nyein.

He explained that he did not accept that their country’s representative only achieved the second runner-up position and considered this result unfair. This side also announced that next year, they will not continue to cooperate with the Miss Peace organization.

“I have decided to return the Miss Grand Prix crown because what I did and what I received was unfair. Next year I will not be able to continue as the National Director of Miss Grand Prix Myanmar,” he said.

During the livestream, Soe Min Tun added that the Myanmar beauty was voted the highest in the National Costume award, but in the end, their country’s representative did not make it into the top 3.

In the Country’s Power of the Year category, the Myanmar beauty also received the highest votes, but in the end, Miss Grand Thailand won.

In the Miss Popular Vote category, Soe Min Tun said that Mr. Nawat offered to give 25.000 USD (more than 630 million VND) to ensure victory for the representative of Myanmar. Soe Min Tun borrowed money to have enough money but in the end, the winner in this category was the representative of Indonesia.
The national director of the Miss Grand Myanmar organization (right) said that the title of second runner-up for beauty Thae Su Nyein was unfair (Photo: Instagram).

Soe Min Tun’s side said that the Miss Grand pageant is “not peaceful” as the organizers claimed, but only aimed at business activities.

Thae Su Nyein is the most outstanding contestant at the Miss Grand International 2024 pageant. From the beginning of the contest, the 17-year-old beauty has been of interest to beauty forums and audiences, predicting high results.

However, Thae Su Nyein was also constantly involved in scandals, showing off her arrogant attitude towards the representatives of Venezuela and Laos. She was also suspected of cheating, bringing along a makeup and hair team. During the national costume performance, she burst into tears because she was not allowed to bring enough accessories on stage to perform.

In response to Myanmar’s comments, Miss Grand President Nawat also spoke up: “Do you think the crown can be bought? I will wait for Myanmar to return the crown or for you to bring it on the plane. As soon as you give up the copyright, I will find a new Miss Grand Myanmar.”

Mr. Nawat also added that he will soon hold a press conference to reveal the story behind it, Komchadluek reported.
Miss Grand President Nawat believes that the title of Second Runner-up for Thae Su Nyein is appropriate for her efforts and performance throughout the Miss Grand 2 season (Photo: Instagram).

President Nawat said he is considering whether to strip Miss Thae Su Nyein of her title. According to him, the title of Second Runner-up is a worthy result for the Myanmar contestant.

He commented that Thae Su Nyein met the criteria and tried hard, but she often showed tension during the competition. “Compared to her age, she is very good, but to say she is mature is not enough,” said Mr. Nawat.

Miss Grand 2024 is considered the most unstable and controversial season ever. From the beginning when the contest took place in Cambodia, Mr. Nawat and the Miss Grand Cambodia team had many conflicts.

As a result, Mr. Nawat brought the contestants back to Thailand to continue the contest while the Cambodian beauty withdrew from the competition.

Before the semi-finals, Mr. Nawat and the Miss Grand Organizing Committee were also accused by a beauty queen of being unprofessional, irresponsible, and exploiting her labor. The beauty queen also promised to hold a press conference to clarify the incident and file a lawsuit against the Miss Grand Organizing Committee.

After the final on October 25, the number of followers of the Miss Grand International organization on Instagram dropped from 10 million to 6 million. In recent years, Miss Grand International has become a notable but controversial contest among the 5,7 major international beauty pageants.