Ex-Miss Universe Contestant Files Bombshell Lawsuit

Gabrielle Henry, who represented Jamaica at the 74th Miss Universe competition, has taken the pageant organization to court nearly a year after she fell through an opening in the stage in Bangkok. The complaint, filed September 21, 2026, in Delaware Superior Court, names the Miss Universe Organization along with parent companies JKN Legacy Inc. and Legacy Holding Group USA.

The fall happened November 19, 2025, during the preliminary evening-gown walk. Henry says she was following rehearsed blocking when she dropped about five feet through an unmarked, uncovered gap that held lighting gear and concrete. She alleges bright lights pointed at her face made the edge of the stage hard to see.

She lost consciousness on impact. Medical records cited in the suit describe a traumatic brain injury with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, a frontal-lobe hemorrhagic contusion, and a subdural hemorrhage. She was hospitalized from November 19 to December 10, 2025.

At the time she was an ophthalmologist in residency. The complaint says the injuries kept her from returning to that work and left ongoing neurological and cognitive symptoms that still require rehabilitation. It also seeks damages for lost earning capacity and professional opportunities.

Five legal theories are listed: negligence; premises liability; negligent hiring, retention and supervision; negligent infliction of emotional distress; and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The filing calls the fall the “most traumatic moment” of her life and argues that worldwide video coverage added a separate layer of harm.

The suit claims other contestants had already complained about lighting and staging, and that organizers left the opening unguarded. It says the Miss Universe Organization kept control over how the stage was run even though Miss Grand International handled local production.

Miss Universe Haiti contestant Melissa Sapini later described a staff meeting after the fall. “The first thing he said was it’s because she wasn’t paying attention,” she recalled. “Of course, safety is our number one priority, this that. But it’s like, ‘Are you serious?’ That was really scary.”

The organization told reporters it had not been served. “To date, the Organization has not been served with, nor has it received, any lawsuit, claim, demand letter, or subpoena from Ms. Henry or anyone acting on her behalf,” a statement said. “We are therefore not in a position to comment on claims we have not seen.”

Officials shifted production blame to host entities in Thailand under Nawat Itsaragrisil. They said the organization paid hospital bills in Bangkok and later in Jamaica, covered family travel, and offered Henry a goodwill-ambassador role that went unanswered.

A Miss Grand International representative had earlier said Henry “missed her blocking and may not have been looking at the runway while walking,” while also claiming no one from that group blamed her and that no other contestant fell on the same runway. The stage was later fitted with extra lights along the edge.

Henry has since appeared in Jamaica to crown her successor. The case is still in its early stage, with service and the organization’s formal answer unresolved.