Newly Appointed Miss Universe Judge Personally Coached a Current Contestant

A newly appointed Miss Universe judge has close ties to a contestant set to compete at the international event in Bangkok, Thailand, this week.

On Wednesday, Nov. 19, the pageant organization took to its official Instagram page to announce Natalie Glebova’s place on the Miss Universe selection committee. Her appointment follows resignations from two previous judges, musician Omar Harfouch and former soccer pro Claude Makélélé.

Shortly after the pageant announced Glebova’s role, Harfouch told PEOPLE that the president of the Miss Universe selection committee, Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, dropped out of judging as well.

According to Glebova’s official website, she was crowned Miss Universe in 2005, and she’s now an author and coach in “holistic and integrative pageant training.” She lists several client names in the “Winners” section of her website, where she includes testimonial quotes from her success stories at the International and national levels.

One of her national winners is Miss Universe Canada 2025 winner Jaime VandenBerg, who is currently vying for the crown at the Miss Universe competition Glebova is now expected to judge.

Glebova, VandenBerg and the Miss Universe Organization did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The international pageant’s judging controversies have dominated recent pageantry headlines since Harfouch’s announcement on Nov. 18. In several posts to his Instagram Stories, Harfouch claimed that the Miss Universe Organization formed an “impromptu jury” to choose 30 finalists before participants from 136 countries even took the stage for the preliminary round.

He also alleged that the unofficial judging panel is “composed of individuals with a significant potential conflict of interest due to some [personal] relationships with some of the Miss Universe contestants, including the person responsible for counting the votes and managing the results, which constitutes a further conflict of interest.”

Harfouch was likely referring to Miss Universe’s recent upload featuring a carousel of selection committee members, which was shared on Monday, Nov. 17. The post was captioned, “Meet the inspiring members of the Beyond the Crown Selection Committee for the 74th Miss Universe Competition✨.”

Shortly after his initial announcement, the Miss Universe Organization posted a public statement on Instagram refuting Harfouch’s claims.

“The Miss Universe Organization firmly clarifies that no impromptu jury has been created, that no external group has been authorized to evaluate delegates or select finalists, and that all competition evaluations continue to follow the established, transparent, and supervised MUO protocols,” the statement read.

“Given [Mr. Harfouch’s] expressed confusion, his public mischaracterization of the program, and his stated desire not to participate, the Miss Universe Organization respectfully acknowledges his withdrawal from the official judging panel,” the pageant wrote.

Harfouch later expanded on his claims to PEOPLE, alleging that a pageant contestant and one of the people included in the “Beyond the Crown” selection committee are involved in an affair.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

One contestant, who asked to remain anonymous, told PEOPLE that reports of the covert top 30 selection were “heartbreaking” to learn. They discovered what happened moments after they finished their final rehearsal for the preliminary round.

“Many of us learned through social media, not the Miss Universe Organization, that the preliminary selection for the Top 30 was not only conducted without the presence of the official judges, but before we’ve even competed on stage,” the contestant said. “Many contestants in this pre-picked top 30 list violate conflict of interest through personal relationships to people of the organization.”

The pageant hopeful also expressed gratitude for Harfouch’s willingness to speak out. “We thank Omar Harfouch for standing up for integrity when the organization would not,” she said. “He showed the very leadership Miss Universe claims to celebrate.”