Miss Universe TT: Thongs sharpest, cutting blade in set

Crowns and Sashes CEO and national director of Miss Universe TT Stephen Jones said TT’s candidate Jenelle Thongs remained the sharpest, cutting blade pack and was hoping for a win this Saturday in the competition’s final leg.

Thongs faced a lot of criticism in the lead up to the competition, over style choices as well as her weight.

Despite this she was judged as the competition’s 2024 Miss Congeniality.

This year’s competition is being held in Mexico City, Mexico. There have been a number of changes to its format including an increased number of semifinalists from 20 to 30. The preliminary competition, evening gown and closed-door interviews will determine the semifinalists.

These will compete in the swimsuit segment from which 12 contestants will move on to the evening gown competition.

From there, five contestants will move on to the question-and-answer segment and from this the winner and four-runner-ups will be determined. The final show takes place on November 16.

Jones addressed some of the issues with Newsday in a phone interview on Friday.

He said Thongs represented TT a few times in the past; she was TT’s candidate to Miss Supranational 2021.

She has 14 years of experience as a well-travelled ambassador, he said.

“This is not someone who just rolled off a bed and success fell in her lap,” Jones added.

Jones said the organisation understood it was difficult for people to accept some of the changes to the competition’s format and was hard for them to get on with the new era.

“At Crowns and Sashes TT, we celebrate inclusivity and diversity with all of our candidates. What we look for – more than the physical aesthetic – is a representative who she knows what she wants for her life, she is clear about articulating those goals, she is mature, patriotic, she is service-oriented and she has, at least, about seven or eight major initiatives she has championed.”

He added that the new organisation was not just looking for the typical model because “it is not just a modelling competition.”

“This new era of Miss Universe, owned by Mexicans and Thai people, is looking for women who can go the distance, can travel the world for 12 months – so you have to have stamina, you have to be flexible, easy to work with and sure about yourself.

“And from the fact that Janelle has displayed that, despite the criticism, that her own countrymen may have thrown at her because they are uneasy about physical identity.

“The fact that she was still able to show up last night to conquer that international stage, that speaks volumes and we are very hopeful that on Saturday night the judges are going to reward her for the maturity and excellence she has been bringing to the space.”

Jones said it was only last year Miss Universe relaxed the age rules. He added women could be any age and apply.

Crowns and Sashes met Thongs in 2020, she won the local leg for Miss Supranational and went off to Poland.

Jones said by that time, when competing at Miss Supranational, Thongs was already 28, which was then the age limit for entrants to the Miss Universe competition.

She competed during the covid19 pandemic and, he added, her pre-covid dreams of going to Miss Universe would never have happened because of her age.

“Now that they have allowed for mothers, married and transgender women and women who are showing up in a different body type.

“Jenelle has always wanted to go to Miss Universe and we were very clear that we did not have permission to hand-select someone to go to Miss Universe so we had to screen locally and put on a show.

“She emerged a winner and so I think she is living out that dream now.”

As to criticisms about Thongs’ styling, Jones said there were times, if the franchise went to an external supplier, people complained.

When local designers were used, there would also be complaints, he added.

Jones said the organisation always had an open-door policy inviting the country to be a part of its process.

While the organisation has been doing its part, to get to the level it desires, there needs to be an all-hands-on-deck approach, he said.

“The truth is while for some we are falling short in those areas and, we acknowledge there is space for improvement, the improvement will come if only we were able to secure more support, whether it is from the public service, government, private sector and the citizens of the country.”

Jones said it did the country no good, it was about business and not just a delegate.

“When an organisation sees that your country is not supporting you, they might be slow to bring their business here. It is a revolving door, we all have to be a part of that journey,” he added.

He added that Thongs’ outfits were locally designed and made. Neil Young was the designer of her dress on Thursday night.

Jones said there was a shift in people’s response to Thongs in just a few hours.

“The narrative has changed and that also speaks to our colonialist, bandwagonist kind of way of behaving around all things identity related.

“That is a deeply, deeply rooted cultural problem that we have.”

He said the organisation stood with Thongs and was hopeful.

“We definitely want a win but because we sit on the other side of things it is very difficult to tell the projection of where the international organisation wants to take the competition for the next year.

He said Miss Universe TT received feedback from the international franchise and they were impressed with Thongs.

“Jenelle, I think, may have slam dunked her close-door interviews. If you know anything about Jenelle, she is an excellent speaker.

“When she went to supranational, she emerged the international winner for the interviews and the way the organisation has structured that this year allows for at least 11 panels of experts who interview 127 candidates.

“The feedback we are getting is that Jenelle remains the sharpest, cutting blade in the pack.”

He added that Thongs may not be the size zero, tallest or have the most expensive wardrobe but, in fact, Thongs was the right choice for Miss Universe and the organisation was hoping the country would be proud of what she achieves.