The winner of Miss Universe 2023 R'Bonney Gabriel announced the exciting change during New York Fashion Week.
“What I love about Miss Universe is that they are always first in line,” she said WWD in an interview published on September 12, “looking for ways to be more inclusive and live up to the platform they've designed for us.”
She continued: “It's a bold group of women at the helm here, and you know what, a lot of people tend to follow what we do; it's nice to be a standard-bearer, and I'm proud that we do that.”
The organizational update is one that hits close to home for R'Bonney. After all, he raised the issue during the pageant's Q&A segment.
“For me, I'd like to see an age increase because I'm 28,” R'Bonney responded at the time. “And that's the greatest age to compete. And I think that's a beautiful thing.”
He added: “My favorite quote is, 'If not now, when?' Because as a woman, I believe that age does not define us. It's not tomorrow, it's not yesterday, but it's now.”
