While the Miss Universe 2023 pageant, famous for its inclusion of transgender contestants, will still take place this Saturday, the JKN Global Group behind it filed for bankruptcy a few days before the event.
Thai business tycoon and transgender activist Anne Jakrajutatip of the JKN Global Group bought the organization for $20,000,000 in 2022.
Jakrajutatip, who is internationally known as a transgender celebrity, described the purchase at the time as a “strong strategic addition to our portfolio.”
But a year later, the franchise itself seems unstable.
A public document sent to the Stock Exchange of Thailand from JKN Global Group declared “JKN Global Group Public Company Limited (‘the Company’) has filed a petition for business recovery with the Central Bankruptcy Court under the Bankruptcy Act BE 2483 (1940) (as amended) ( ‘Bankruptcy Act’) on November, 8 2023, the Central Bankruptcy Court has subsequently issued an order to receive the petition for the recovery of the Company’s business on November 9, 2023.”
The Miss Universe Organization published a subsequent announcement declaring that amid the “current financial situation” that “We confirm that Miss Universe 2023 will be held in El Salvador on November 18, 2023, where the best experience provided to our fans will remain our priority .” [sic]
This year’s Miss Universe pageant is scheduled to feature at least two transgenders who are known as women for the first time, Miss Portugal, a flight attendant named Marina Machete, and Rikkie Kollé, who is the first transgender Miss Netherlands.
JKN Global Group has filed for bankruptcy. AFP via Getty Images
This follows Spain’s Ángela Ponce, who was the first overall trans contestant in 2018, but did not make it to the finals.
Machete released a video in September lamenting that “rising levels of transphobia and intolerance are alarming around the world.”
However, Machete declared it was “heartwarming” to see “that the Miss Universe organization is so inclusive, breaking boundaries and creating a platform for women not only to empower themselves but also to create real change in their own communities.”
“Trans women are women, period,” the Miss Universe Organization told CNN in October, after the crowning of Miss Portugal. “We’re here to celebrate women, period. This has been going on for more than a decade, and we are proud to have made this change early on, compared to other programs.”
JKN Global Group and the Miss Universe Organization have not yet responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
