Oh I know Miss Universe is rigged - that's why I don't watch it. I don't have any proof, ofc. Besides the winner, I have strong suspicions the other placings in Miss Universe are determined by "gifts" to the judges.^ On a slightly related note, the whole Miss Universe compeition is rigged. I saw the year Zhilin competed in the pageant and it was obvious she should have won (similar to how Miss Philippines should have won this year). She was totally robbed. The judges don't pick the winner. Trump does.
With that said, like every other similar competitive reality show the "judges" don't pick the winner. The client does. In this case it will be Ulta Beauty.
I'm suspicious of the judge's motives. If I were a mentor and had the opportunity to vote off one model, I would keep the weaker model and eliminate the one that presents more of a threat to my team. I'm not sure that either Karolina or Naomi felt that Stephanie was a better model than the two they kicked off, but keeping her on Team Coco might prevent Team Coco from ever winning. Am I just being cynical?
This bolded part so much. I actually think most of America would love a Stephanie win since she is the actual fan favorite (from what I can tell in social media on facebook, youtube, twitter, etc., Brittany was never a fan fave even though she kept winning at the polls... ), but I don't see her winning a show like this where experience is important.For me its all about Ebony, Zilin and Stephanie, everyone else can gtfo. I'm kind of hoping Stephanie wins. She has the look, she's the wildcard underdog and when it comes to challenges she usually performs above expectation.