Who is Rachel Gupta? Parents and all we know as Miss Grand International 2024 steps down citing hostile environment

Rachel Gupta has stepped down from her posting as Miss Grand International 2024 and returned her crown.

Rachel took to social media to announce her decision, attributing it to mistreatment and a hostile environment. She also released a full-length video narrating her experiences.

“The months following my crowning have been marked by broken promises, mistreatment, and a toxic environment I can no longer endure in silence," she said. “I ask for your compassion, your open hearts, and your continued support as I take this next step. Your love means more than you know.”

Rachel Gupta was named the 12th Miss Grand International on October 25, 2024, becoming the first Indian woman to win the title. Born in January 2004, the 21-year-old was also previously crowned Miss Grand India 2024 and Miss Super Talent of the World 2022.

Her parents, Rajesh Aggarwal and Jennifer Gupta, are business professionals, and she has a younger sister, Rhea. Gupta was born in Punjab, India, where she was also raised.

Rachel Gupta says she was left stranded, body-shamed, and stolen from: Read more

In a YouTube video uploaded on May 28, Rachel Gupta recounted her experiences with the Miss Grand International Public Company Limited (MGI), the organization responsible for the Thai beauty pageant.

"The whole time that I was working with Miss Grand International, the last seven months,” she said. “I was constantly harassed, manipulated, ignored and left to fend for myself."

She also claimed to have been forced to sign a “one-sided” contract, adding that she was often left stranded without “basic amenities."

Gupta alleged that "immediately after winning, they moved me into a cramped hotel room, where all my suitcases couldn’t open properly because there wasn’t enough space."

She also claimed that because "there were no pots and pans" in the boarding she was given, she had to resort to takeout food, causing her to gain weight. She then accused MGI of body shaming her for it.

“They were hounding me, constantly talking about my weight and my body," Gupta continued in the video. “I remember one time, they sent their representative to me and he just comes up to me and he starts pinching me in different places and he’s like ‘Oh you need to lose weight here, you need to lose weight here’. What am I supposed to say to that? It’s so embarrassing. It makes you feel so small and so bad. I understand, obviously I have to stay fit for the job I have, and have to stay in shape, but it’s so difficult when you don’t have access to anything and you’re just locked in a house, basically all day long.”

Gupta said that the final straw for her was when she was “stuck” in Thailand with “no security,” unable to go back home to India. After allegedly losing $1000 and receiving no help from MGI, she decided to return her crown.

“I realized, in that moment, that these people will never support me,” she said. “Frankly they don’t care if I live or die. As long as I’m there to smile at their events, as long as I keep my body super skinny, the way they like, they don’t care if I live or die.”

In the days since she relinquished her title, the Miss Grand International Organization took to X to issue a curt statement, confirming that Rachel Gupta’s pageant title has been terminated. However, they blamed the beauty queen for allegedly failing to do her own work properly.

"The Miss Grand International Organization hereby announces the termination of Miss Rachel Gupta's title as Miss Grand International 2024, effective immediately. This decision follows her failure to fulfill her assigned duties, engagement in external projects without prior approval from the organization, and her refusal to participate in the scheduled trip to Guatemala," the statement reads. "As a result, the organization has resolved to revoke her title with immediate effect. Miss Rachel Gupta is no longer authorized to use the title or wear the crown associated with Miss Grand International 2024. We request that the crown be returned to the MGI Head Office within 30 days from the date of this notice."

Not long after, MGI also issued a statement to People Magazine refuting Rachel Gupta's allegations:

"Miss Grand International Public Company Limited (MGI) issues this formal statement in response to a series of false, misleading, and defamatory claims made publicly by Ms. Rachel Gupta, former Miss Grand International 2024. Her remarks, circulated via a video published on 28 May 2025, distort facts and misrepresent her contractual relationship with MGI—relying solely on emotional appeals and tearful storytelling without any physical evidence to support her claims."

They also claimed that all the allegations directed at the organization and its chief operating officer were “rejected in their entirety."

"MGI will not allow personal attacks or manipulative narratives,” the statement continued, “to undermine the credibility of its executives or the integrity of the organization."

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