Was pinched, made to sell cheap products on TikTok as Miss Grand International: Rachel Gupta

Rachel Gupta announced her resignation on May 28, citing 'broken promises, mistreatment and a toxic environment.' (Image credit: _rachelgupta/Instagram)

Rachel Gupta, the 21-year-old model from Jalandhar who became the first Indian to win the Miss Grand International (MGI) title in Thailand in 2024, only to resign seven months into her reign, has recently revealed details of the "toxic environment" at the pageant. She also shared that she was body shamed, pinched, and asked to lose weight. On the other hand, the pageant organisers stated her title has been revoked and instructed her to return the crown to the MGI Head Office within 30 days.

Gupta announced her resignation on Instagram on May 28, citing "broken promises, mistreatment, and a toxic environment." The following day, she released a YouTube video titled ‘The Truth about Miss Grand International — My Story,’ where she made serious allegations against the pageant’s organisers.

In her video, Gupta claimed the organisers showed a disregard for her well-being and were only interested in using her to make money. "Frankly, they don’t care if I live or die," she said. "As long as I’m there to smile at their events, as long as I keep my body super skinny, the way they like, they don’t care if I live or die... They just want me to be there, to go on TikTok Live and make money for them and show up at their events. That’s it, that’s all they want from me… I realised they would never, never support me, and I was completely on my own…"

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The model also accused the organisation of forcing all the participants to sell products online. "They made us sell. You guys know they made us sell these cheap, tacky products on TikTok like we were salesgirls. You’ve crowned queens, girls who have careers in our country, we do things, we’re well respected, and they’re making us sell cheap products on TikTok because it makes them money, and you can’t say no," she stated.

'He starts pinching me in different places...'
In her video, Gupta also described experiencing physical humiliation and body shaming as Miss Grand International. "I remember one time, they sent their representative to me and he just comes up to me and he starts pinching me in different places and he’s like ‘Oh you need to lose weight here, you need to lose weight here’. What am I supposed to say to that? It’s so embarrassing," she said. "It makes you feel so small and so bad. I understand, obviously I have to stay fit for the job I have, and have to stay in shape, but it’s so difficult when you don’t have access to anything and you’re just locked in a house, basically all day long."

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In response to the allegations, Miss Grand International has released a statement on its official Instagram page. They claimed Rachel’s title was revoked due to "her failure to fulfill her assigned duties, engagement in external projects without prior approval from the organization, and her refusal to participate in the scheduled trip to Guatemala." They added, "Miss Rachel Gupta is no longer authorised to use the title or wear the crown associated with Miss Grand International 2024."