The director of Miss Universe Thailand, Nawat Itsaragrisil, apologised on stage on Wednesday after a livestream of him reprimanding contestants — and insulting Miss Mexico — went viral, prompting several delegates to walk out.

“If anyone (was) affected and not comfortable (with what) happened, I’m so sorry,” Nawat said, adding: “I think you must understand that the pressure is a lot. I am a human. Sometimes I cannot control… I had not intend to harm anyone because I respect all of you…”

“I want to (take) this opportunity to… apologise to the delegates… And, also, I’m sorry for (Miss) Universe and around the world too. But I wish all the true message must be the right (one)… Please check everything in our website,” he continued.

The controversy erupted at a pre-pageant ceremony when Nawat publicly told off Mexico’s Fatima Bosch in front of dozens of contestants for failing to post promotional content.

When she objected, he called security and threatened to disqualify those supporting her, after which Bosch left the room and others joined her in solidarity. 

Among those who walked out on Tuesday was reigning Miss Universe Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark.

Despite the dispute, the Miss Universe activities continued, with contestants attending a welcome event in Bangkok on Wednesday. The new Miss Universe is due to be crowned on November 21.

Meghan Markle has just been hailed for the way she’s been handling her business, pricing and the allure that she’s creating around her creations.

Everything has been brought to light and explained by branding expert Chad Teixeira.

He spoke to the Daily Mail for this breakdown of Meghan’s efforts, which “plays” to promote her branding, all while defying what people consider “traditional retail logic.”

According to the expert, this year’s Christmas collection is what is the most important because the newly released video prompting the Christmas collection features things like decked halls, a glazed turkey, which has been done with her own brand of honey, as well as clips of desserts that she’s prepping using her own jams.

He also touched on the method behind the shocking pricing of her products. For example things like the raspberry spread and orange marmalade retail for $12 apiece, and the trio of the Fruit Spread Trio and Signature Fruit Spread Gift set go for $36 and $42 respectively in their keepsake boxes.

To the branding expert, this pricing is a “deliberate play on perceived value” compared to “traditional retail logic” because it places them as a luxury good.

Furthermore As Ever seems to be focusing more on Meghan’s “story, taste, and aesthetic” creating it more as an “emotional purchase rather than a rational one” which “is common in celebrity-led or heritage-inspired brands.”

“It’s a strategic move where exclusivity and narrative hold more weight than practical value”, he also noted.

Even Meghan’s handwriting “aligns with that premium positioning” he said before calling it a “’subtle connection to her personal touch is the luxury” to her fans.

“While some consumers may be momentarily surprised that the set isn’t cheaper, this kind of pricing psychology can actually strengthen brand allure if handled with consistency”as it “signals confidence and exclusivity” he said a bit later into the chat.

However, “the key will be in storytelling,” he said before concluding. “If the focus remains on craftsmanship, heritage, and intention rather than quantity, most of her audience will interpret the pricing as part of the brand’s aspirational identity rather than a misstep.”

Hillary Duff has just answered one question fans have been dying to get answers to after Lizzie McGuire was rebooted.

The whole conversation happened while the 38-year-old was sitting on the Jake Shane‘s podcast Therapuss and featured one of the most asked takes, i.e. whether McGuire would end up with Adam Lamberg‘s character Gordo.

According to Duff herself, “I think that there was just disagreements on how far we could take [Lizzie] and where she is, as you know, she would have been when we were filming that 30 or 31.”

“And for me, I was that age and so I just also felt so deeply connected to her as a character because we were the same. And I was like, oh, man, we can’t Mary Tyler Moore her that’s not, I don’t know, it was 2023. You know what I mean?”

“There’s social media and we weren’t I wasn’t trying to have her wake up and do bong rips or anything, but she was a normal 30-year-old, you know? So, there was some things I think they just weren’t like, totally willing to go there.”

The last McGuire release prior to this was in 2003 when the series wrapped up her story via The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and featured her kissing Gordo.

However, the actor does not think they would have ended up together because “I don’t think they had a thing post. I think they had maybe an almost thing post. I know, again, another swing at it that didn’t. But I think that there was a thing with someone else that was just very quick.”

“In my mind, I like to think she had a thing with Ethan Craft finally,” the star concluded by saying.

For those unversed, Craft was Lizzie’s middle school crush played by Clayton Snyder.