The new owner of Miss Universe gave a speech extolling the organization as run by women, for women, and composed of women, as a "trans woman." Twitter users had some questions.
"Welcome to the Miss Universe organization," JKN Global Group CEO Anne Jakrajutatip told the live audience at the 71st Miss Universe competition in New Orleans.
R’Bonney Gabriel, a model, fashion designer and sewing instructor ultimately took the Miss Universe crown, beating out 83 other contestants.
MISS USA R’BONNEY GABRIEL WINS MISS UNIVERSE COMPETITION
"From now on it’s going to be run by women, owned by a trans woman for all women around the world to celebrate the power of feminism!" Jakrajutatip declared as the audience burst into applause.
Jakrajutatip, who purchased the parent company of Miss Universe for $20 million in 2022, continued to celebrate a new era in the Miss Universe competition.
"Diverse cultures, social inclusion, gender equality, creativity, a force for good, and a force for the beauty of humanity."
Jakrajutatip is a well known Thai reality TV star.
But some Twitter users debated whether women themselves were actually better off with a transgender owner at the helm of Miss Universe.
"It’s not FEMALE EMPOWERMENT when the first ‘woman’ to own the Miss Universe pageant organization was born a MAN," conservative influencer James Bradley wrote.
Political commentator Ian Miles Cheong called out Jakrajutatip for lecturing women on "what it means to be a woman." "Listening to that transgender Miss Universe owner lecture the public on what it means to be a woman really takes the cake."
The west is "completely detached from reality," one user wrote in response to Cheong.
New Culture Forum founder and journalist Peter Whittle said that it was hypocritical for an organization designed to champion women should be run by a woman. "The new boss of the Miss Universe contest proclaims it will now by run by women and will celebrate feminism, inadvertently forgetting perhaps that he is, in fact, a man."
"I see America is not the only thing to have gone to s--- since Donald Trump stopped running it!" El American editor Ben Kew wrote.
Former President Donald Trump sold the Miss Universe Organization in 2015.
The Spectator editor-at-large Ben Domenech gave one of the shortest responses to the video of Jakrajutatip’s speech. "Dude, come on."
Fox News’ Pilar Arias contributed to this report.