In a stunning and deeply personal video that has since gone viral, Rachel Gupta, former Miss Grand International, has pulled back the curtain on what she describes as a “toxic, exploitative and performative” environment behind the pageantry’s polished façade.

Crowned with fanfare and pride as the first Indian winner of Miss Grand International, Gupta now says her reign was marked not by empowerment, but by isolation, control and trauma.

Triumph to turmoil

Gupta began her video with raw honesty, describing her initial post-crowning months as “depressing and lonely.” What should have been the highlight of her life quickly devolved into what she calls “constant harassment, mental torture and systemic mistreatment.”

Among the most alarming allegations is a voting system Gupta claims favors countries that can afford to pay. “India didn’t buy votes,” she said bluntly. “I won because of the people — but that made me a problem.”

Crown with no comfort

Rather than living a glamorous life, Gupta says she spent over a month in a cramped hotel room before being moved to a dilapidated house “far from civilization,” without transportation, proper food or communication access. She had to fund her daily expenses, including meals, from her own pocket.

Promises of a penthouse and regular stipends reportedly never materialized. “I only got paid the first month. After that, my family had to keep me afloat,” she said. In a further blow, she recounted how $1,000 went missing from her accommodations and she was blamed.

Body shaming and silence

Gupta also revealed disturbing experiences of body shaming, including an incident where a representative allegedly pinched her waist and ordered her to lose weight. “They obsessed over image but ignored every real issue,” she said.

She also shared that a former titleholder had once spoken up about sexual harassment, only to be disbelieved. “That told me everything I needed to know about how safe I was,” she added.

Control, contracts and chaos

Central to her critique is what she calls the “contract from hell” — a post-win agreement that she claims stripped her of agency and rights, serving only to protect the organization.

She described how the threat of being dethroned was constantly used as leverage: “They reminded me every day that I was replaceable.”

Meanwhile, a shakeup in India’s national directorship left her without support at home. “My homecoming was chaos,” she said, citing the instability as another factor that prevented her from fulfilling her duties meaningfully.

Meaningless advocacy, missed opportunities

Gupta says her ideas — particularly a business pitch to spotlight Indian creators— were dismissed outright. Charity projects, too, were rejected because they “didn’t make money.”

Instead, she alleges the organization prioritized “selling cheap TikTok merchandise” over real-world impact.

Despite being crowned an international ambassador, she was sent on just one official trip in seven months. Behind the scenes, she says, she witnessed the pageant’s founder berating national directors and fostering a culture of fear.

Moving forward

Gupta closed her video with a message of strength and clarity: “I feel free now. And for the first time in a long time, I feel heard.”

She called on future contestants and fans to think critically about the institutions they admire. “This isn’t about destroying a brand. It’s about demanding better —for the next girl, for all of us.”

As the global pageant industry reckons with a new era of transparency and accountability, Gupta’s testimony may well be the spark that ignites real change.