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As of Sept. 12, the Miss Universe pageant announced a major change that sent shockwaves worldwide. For the first time since 1952, the Miss Universe Pageant has removed the age limit to qualify. Now, any woman 18 and up will have a chance to compete in the Miss category.
The pageant organization posted a public announcement, which was quickly re-shared.
“The Miss Universe Organization announces the elimination of all age limits across all Miss Universe-associated pageants. This change will apply to all 2024 pageants globally. Starting then, every adult woman in the world will be eligible to compete to be Miss Universe,” the Miss Universe Instagram page shared.
With the previous age limit being 28, this sparked a lot of questions among the pageant community. This means anyone who was not already crowned can come back to compete from previous years.
The 72nd Miss USA pageant, which will be aired live on the CW Network on Sept. 29, could potentially include this as an on-stage question from the judges.
Looking back, this major change may have stemmed from a series of statements made by Miss Universe titleholders.
After former Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst died by suicide in 2022, she was remembered for the words she spoke during her lifetime, which slightly revealed what she might have been battling mentally. At the time, she was the oldest woman to be crowned Miss USA at age 28.
“Each time I say ‘I’m turning 30,’ I cringe a little. Sometimes I can successfully mask this uncomfortable response with excitement; other times, my enthusiasm feels hollow, like bad acting. Society has never been kind to those growing old, especially women. Occasional exceptions are made for some of the rich and a few of the famous,” Kryst said.
Our current Miss Universe, R’Bonney Gabriel, and former Miss Texas USA 2022 may have also sparked this change from her on-stage question in January of 2023.
“I answered an onstage question: ‘If you were going to make any changes to the organization’s rules, what would they be?’ I said to raise the age limit. When I competed, the age limit was 28, and I was 28 at the time. So my answer was that we should change this. A woman’s ability to compete at Miss Universe, or anything in life, shouldn’t be defined by her age. Age should just be a number,” Gabriel said.
Pageant lovers shared their thoughts on the controversial news below.
In Miss Universe 2022 Final Q&A, R’Bonney says a change she wants to see in the competition is raising the age limit because it is never too late to dream. Now, the organization declared removing, not just raising, age limit.
LOOK FOR GIRLS LIKE HER. CROWN GIRLS LIKE HER.
— shan (@seanshano) September 13, 2023
I don’t know how to feel about Miss Universe dropping the age limit. How is a 40 year old woman going to compete with a 20 year old?
— Zhané Padmore (@zhanepadmore) September 13, 2023
The Miss Universe news removing age limit is insane! Now that married woman, mothers, trans and plus size can compete why not make the next MU an all stars. Handpicked from previous miss universe countries title holders! Sino kaya ilalaban sa Pilipinas?
— Bob (@bobdiwa) September 13, 2023
