Not even the host of Miss Universe. With just twelve hours to go before the final telecast, the controversial Nawat Itsaragrisil didn’t merely complain about Steve Byrne; he attempted to fire him on the spot

Steve Byrne hosting Miss Universe 2025 in Bangkok. Photo: stevebyrnelive/Instagram

We tried to avoid it, but as the flood of new details keeps coming, there’s no escaping the fact that Miss Universe 2025 has turned the tired warhorse of phrases ‘just gives and gives’ into a fresh, disturbing truth. In an interview on the podcast The Pageant Nerd, the presenter of the latest, Bangkok edition of MU, Steve Byrne, told host Roger (known only by his first name): “I was told after that taping that Nawat (Itsaragrisil) tried to have me fired that evening, like with hours to go before the taping.” That Mr Itsaragrisil would have Mr Byrne removed from the show is unsurprising. He did threaten to disqualify Miss Mexico and others who followed her when she walked out. But trying to fire the host hours before the show is the organizational equivalent of a five-alarm fire in a tiara factory.

Apparently, he was told that the production crew was against Mr Itsaragrisil’s flash pitch. “No, we can’t do that,” Mr Byrne recounted being told. “And they were like, even if we were going to replace him, who do we replace him with?” And, according to the raconteur, “Nawat was like, me!” Mr Byrne let out a chuckle of disbelief, even when he had already heard and seen the astonishing moments of MU 2025. Mr Itsaragrisil’s treatment of Miss Mexico, Fátima Bosch, during a preliminary event and a subsequent teary explanation were already interpreted by critics as a clear attempt to control the narrative and maintain a dominant, highly-visible presence. It culminated in his desire to host the event by considering the firing of the hired, official host, surprising no one. Mr Nawat is a seasoned Thai media personality, television host, and producer. His career is built on commanding attention and driving ratings.

Nawat Itsaragrisil posing with Miss Universe Thailand, Praveenar Singh, and other delegates. Photo: nawat.tv/ Instagram

Mr Byrne did not say why he thought Mr Itsaragrisil wanted to relieve him of his hosting duties. The thought was that the director found him to “lack energy”. But on the very morning of the finals when he arrived for work, he learned that his lines have been changed and that the jokes approved the day before were taken out, leaving him with just two in what appeared to be a stripped‑down script. It seems that someone wanted it to be Miss Universe without the punchlines. Mr Byrne continued describing what the director of the show came up to tell him: “Stick to the script, do your job, and take your money and run. There’s a lot going on here. And I don’t want you getting blame for anything that could possibly go wrong.” More alarming is that the script now contained a requirement: Mr Byrne was told to describe Mr Itsaragrisil as an “amazing man”. It seems that if this individual couldn’t seize the microphone himself, he would use the official host as his puppet, ensuring the finals was not a celebration of Miss Universe, but a globally televised, mandatory sermon of his own genius.

This wasn’t just a false praise, it was scripted adulation. Whether or not Mr Itsaragrisil personally inserted that line, the effect is unmistakable: By requiring the host to publicly declare him “amazing”, he attempted to inscribe his own legitimacy into the spectacle itself. Pageants as we know them are supposed to elevate contestants, but this line was self-canonisation. Mr Itsaragrisil was, ultimately, crowning himself. Requiring public declarations wasn’t seeking legitimacy; it was demanding a live, network-televised kiss on the ring. Thailand knows and hails him as the ultimate patron and power broker of pageants, but not the rest of the world. Mr Byrne provided more details: “Nawat added that I had to thank him for having us all in Thailand.” The script, as it turned out, was not just altered for tone, it was to manufacture gratitude.

Steve Byrne on The Pageant Nerd poscast. Screen shot: thepageantnerd/You Tube

By scripting thanks, Mr Itsaragrisil positioned himself not just as participant, but as benefactor, the one to whom the universe owed applause. It is widely known that Mr Itsaragrisil, as the president of Miss Grand International (MGI), has openly challenged and often compared his pageant to Miss Universe. His approach to outdo or at least strongly compete with Miss Universe involves several strategies, though his actions have often been controversial. Presumably he gets to dominate MU if he were to make himself host. However, his grand plan to outdo Miss Universe—trying to turn the world’s most recognized crown into a microphone for his own self-affirmation—just did not happen. As seen in the fruitless fiasco involving Miss Mexico, the microphone isn’t for him.

It is deeply ironic and almost theatrical that Mr Itsaragrisil, whose English delivery has often been criticised for mispronunciations and a lack of clarity would put himself forward as host of Miss Universe, a show broadcast to a global audience where linguistic precision and personal charisma are the very currency of credibility, not another round of “damage”. It became clear that it is wasn’t enough that he was the director of the Miss Universe, he wanted the ultimate accolade—to host the show whose participants were under his charge, and thereby controlling the entire telecast. It would have placed him at the emotional climax and center of attention, effectively crowning himself as the single most dominant figure in global pageantry. It was an audacious plan hatched on the stage of his biggest rival. Thailand itself became framed not as a host nation, but as a backdrop for one man’s myopic moment. Spectacle can indeed be hijacked by ego.