Despite seeming to be a crowd favorite, Miss Thailand, Maria Poonlertlarp, didn’t win any awards at Miss Universe this morning, as Thailand wrapped up months of online voting for their beauty queen.
The 25-year-old Thai-Swedish model made it to the top five but was not named when the judges called for final three at the international beauty contest held in Las Vegas.
Still, this was the closest shot Thailand has come to winning Miss Universe since 1988, when Phonthip Nakhirunkanok was crowned Miss Universe.
Maria, who has a master’s degree from Stockholm University, seemed to struggle with the question she was asked on stage, “What do you think has been the most important social movement of your generation and why?”
She said, “I think the most important social movement so far is that we’re having aging population. The most important movement in our time is definitely the youth. The youth is the future. The youth is something that we need to invest in because they’re the ones that are going to look after the earth that we’re living in. Thank you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24bwfGs9HGE
Well, we can’t really blame Maria. The aging population in Thailand may be a little too honest for a pageant, and her generation doesn’t seem to have any prominent movements that spring to mind.
At the end, Miss South Africa, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, was crowned Miss Universe, while the second and third places went to Miss Colombia, Laura González Ospina, and Miss Jamaica, Davina Bennett, respectively.
Editor’s Note: The story has been edited to include the fact that Phonthip Nakhirunkanok, a contestant from Thailand, won Miss Universe in 1988.
