Miss Israel denies giving 'dirty look' to Miss Palestine after viral pageant video. Her clarification

Nadeen Ayoub became the first-ever Miss Palestine to participate in the global competition. (Image: @RimaHas/X)

Miss Israel, Melanie Shiraz, refuted social media claims suggesting she gave a “dirty” or “jealous” look to Miss Palestine, Nadeen Ayoub, during the ongoing Miss Universe pageant, after a short clip from the event went viral online.

In the video, Shiraz appeared to turn her head towards Ayoub while contestants stood together on stage. The brief glance was quickly circulated across social media platforms, with several users claiming the Israeli contestant had directed a disdainful look at her Palestinian counterpart.

The footage sparked a wave of reactions online. Many social media users flooded Shiraz’s Instagram posts with comments such as “Free Palestine”, while others resorted to personal attacks, calling her “Miss Genocide” — a phrase referencing Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

In response, Shiraz issued a clarification denying the accusations and urged viewers to avoid making false assumptions about the incident. Quoting her reply on Instagram, Daily Mail reported her as saying, “It’s very clear that I was simply looking toward other contestants as they came on stage. Adding dramatic language to ordinary moments — especially when it misrepresents people — doesn’t promote kindness or fairness. I hope you’ll reconsider in the future before choosing virality at the expense of others.”

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— Rima Hassan (@RimaHas) November 9, 2025

The controversy unfolded during a year of heightened significance for the pageant, as Nadeen Ayoub became the first-ever Miss Palestine to participate in the global competition. In an earlier post on Instagram, Ayoub had expressed her pride in representing her homeland. “I represent every Palestinian woman and child whose strength the world needs to see. We are more than our suffering — we are resilience, hope, and the heartbeat of a homeland that lives on through us,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, the Miss Universe competition has been dealing with multiple controversies in recent days. The latest one followed shortly after several contestants staged a walkout to protest the alleged mistreatment of Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch, by an event organiser. The protest began after an official from the host nation, Thailand, was seen publicly reprimanding Bosch during a pre-pageant event.

Amid growing criticism, the Thai official later issued a public apology during a press conference, where he appeared emotional and was seen wiping away tears.