The Miss Universe Organization recently expelled the representative of Panama from the Miss Universe 2024 competition because of her alleged violation of the rules of the pageant. The announcement last Friday has since then set off an upsurge of debates among pageant fans and ardent loyalists of candidate Señorita Panama 2024, 19-year-old Italy Johan Peñaloza Mora.
Peñaloza said just when she was getting ready for one of the biggest gala nights, it was declared that she had been ruled out of the competition due to not following one of the rules. “On November 1, 2024, I was told that I was to leave the Miss Universe pageant,” Peñaloza said. She went on to say that they informed me that this was for not following procedure upon leaving the room. I do confess that I had left for a little while to put on my makeup and get some things, but based on guidance which I followed, it created these consequences rather unexpectedly.
In response, the Miss Universe Organization issued a communique explaining that the expulsion had come after a “thorough evaluation” by its disciplinary commission, which had upheld confidentiality as a “fundamental pillar” of the process to maintain impartiality and respect for all concerned.
Even after the expulsion, Miss Panama’s national pageant organizers informed Peñaloza that her standing within Panama was very much intact. They underlined further that it was an isolated incident, and she would retain the title of Señorita Panama 2024.
Peñaloza said she was grateful for the support she has received, but admitted how personally hard this incident has been for her “This has been hard, emotionally speaking, especially after all the time, effort, resources, and the support from everyone who believed in my journey to represent Panama on the world stage.”
Meanwhile, Miss Universe 2024 will be held on November 16 in Arena CDMX in Mexico City, with about 130 contestants competing in the contest from across the world. Further, there was a big gap in contestants’ age with candidates starting from Russian 18-year-old Valentina Alekseeva and ending with Maltese 40-year-old Beatrice Njoya. Also, Colombia’s Daniela Toloza will contest for getting the crown back to the South American nation for the first time in ten years.
