Miss Universe shuts down online conspiracy theorists who claim winner Miss Mexico is a cheat

Pageant denies claims winner Miss Mexico is married which would make her ineligible for crown

Clara Hill
Wednesday 19 May 2021 08:47 EDT
Comments
Andrea Maza, the newly crowned Miss Universe had caused widespread confusion about whether she is married
Andrea Maza, the newly crowned Miss Universe had caused widespread confusion about whether she is married (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Miss Universe Pageant has debunked a theory about the newly crowned pageant winner, after online sleuths suggested she was married and called for her to resign.

Fans who wanted to know more about winner Andrea Meza, and her life and work as Miss Mexico, came across a photo on her Instagram page showing the pageant competitor in a white wedding gown with a man in a tuxedo, with the caption “3/09/19”, implying the date of an anniversary.

The rules of the pageant stipulate that contestants must be unmarried.

People tagged the Miss Universe account in their comments, and other people expressed their confusion by posting the shocked face emoticon. However, a spokesperson from the Miss Universe franchise told The Independent: “She is not married. It was a photoshoot for the tourism bureau.”

Ms Meza, 26, is from Chihuahua City, where she is an official representative for the local tourism board, holds a degree in software engineering and is an outspoken activist for women’s rights, according to the Miss Universe website.

Ms Meza confirmed that she was unmarried in comments to Insider.

“Back then, I was not in any pageant. I just posted the picture making fun of the situation,” she added. “We thought it was funny to prank our friends by only writing the date on the caption,” she told the publication.

However, the other person in the photo, a model named Jorge Saenz, claimed it was a total misunderstanding and said the pair were on a modelling assignment, and they posted the snap as a “joke”, DNA reported.

The Ah Chihuahua tourism official Instagram page shared a post corroborating the pair’s story, saying they were not married, but just colleagues on a shoot.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in