Rachel Gupta warns CJ Opiaza to 'protect' herself following dispute with MGI Organization
Former Miss Grand International 2024 titleholder Rachel Gupta told newly crowned queen CJ Opiaza to take caution during her reign.
Speaking to the press, the Indian model and beauty queen, who has previously spoken out about her own challenging experiences with the organization, expressed both concern and hope for CJ’s upcoming journey.
"I'm sure she must be feeling a lot of things right now. She must be feeling happy to be the new queen; she must be feeling confused, a little bit nervous, and scared. Honestly, I'm praying for her. My heart is with her. I hope to God that she does not experience the same thing I did, but the truth is that this is the organization that she is choosing to work with," she said.
Gupta also made it clear that she holds no resentment toward Opiaza. However, she did not shy away from issuing a warning.
"Please protect yourself and please know that when they show their true colors, which they will, I will be there for you, and please be safe and protect yourself and do not let anyone make you feel uncomfortable or targeted," the beauty queen noted.
She also acknowledged that the recent controversies may prompt the organization to treat Opiaza potentially more favorably to supposedly restore their image.
"I really think that the organization might try extra hard to give her a good reign now because of all the negative press they've gotten. So I think they might try to prove that they are doing a good job with her, and they might give her an extra special reign and be more attentive, and I really hope that's the case," Rachel underscored.
Gupta had also detailed the alleged sexual harassment she experienced with the MGI Organization, including representatives "pinching" her body and telling her that she had put on weight and posting zoomed-in photos of her body parts online.
She also claimed that organizers only paid her a stipend for one month and that she wasn't able to travel to over 20 countries during her reign as promised.
Gupta's message came after CJ was officially crowned Miss Grand International 2024 on Tuesday, June 3, at MGI Hall in Thailand.
On May 28, the MGI Organization announced the termination of Gupta's title as Miss Grand International 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."
On the same day, Gupta broke her silence and opened up in an emotional 56-minute video about her decision to relinquish her crown, with her claims of mistreatment by MGI executives. In the video, Gupta said the MGI organization "only cared about money" and that it was "impossible to work" with them.
MGI president Nawat Itsaragrisil then presented his side via Instagram stories, alleging that Gupta undertook unauthorized jobs.
MGI also released their detailed "chronological summary" of Gupta's title revocation shared on Facebook on Thursday.
