Thai transgender tycoon buys Miss Universe contest
Image credit: BBC
A transgender woman media entrepreneur from Thailand paid $20 million (£17.1 million) for the company that manages the Miss Universe pageants.
Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip serves as the CEO of the Thai television production business JKN Global Group.
She has performed in Thai versions of the well-known reality series Project Runway and Shark Tank.
She purchases the company Donald Trump formerly co-owned as the pageant becomes more diversified.
Ms. Jakrajutatip spoke frankly about her experiences as a transgender woman.
She asserted that The Miss Universe Organization was a “strong, strategic addition” to the portfolio of her company in statement.
In addition to continuing the brand’s legacy of providing a platform to enthusiastic people from all origins, races, and traditions, she added, “We try to evolve the brand for the next generation.”
The Miss Universe Organization’s president and chief executive, Amy Emmerich, stated that “our ties with worldwide partners and organisations have never been greater, and our progressive strategy continues to position us at the forefront of our industry.”
From 1996 through 2015, Mr. Trump shared ownership of the Miss Universe Organization.
The former US president chose to sell the company after two television partners said they would not carry the pageant because of remarks Mr. Trump made against illegal immigrants during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Mr. Trump faced more criticism when former Miss Universe Alicia Machado claimed he called her “Miss Piggy.”
The Venezuelan model said that the remarks were made after she gained weight following a contest victory in 1996.
When I bought the pageants many years ago, they were in tremendous peril. Mr. Trump said in a statement after the company was sold to the US entertainment company WME-IMG in 2015.
The Miss Universe pageant was beginning to include more diverse contestants when Ms. Jakrajutatip made her acquisition.
According to the organisers, married women and moms will be permitted to compete for the title starting the next year.
In the past, women without children and single women were the only ones who could enter the tournament.
The pageant has been broadcast in more than 160 countries since it first started taking place annually in 1947.