At the coronation event on March 5, Thae walked the stage for the “farewell walk,” a tradition where the outgoing titleholder walks the stage one last time before passing on the crown to the new winner. This honor was supposed to go to Yoon Theint Theint Nway, the titleholder of the previous Miss World Myanmar contest, not Thae.

A video of Thae’s performance posted on the Missosology Facebook page sparked a wave of criticism, with many claiming she was given special privileges due to her close relationship with Htoo Ant Lwin, the former national director of Miss Grand International (MGI) Myanmar, who is reportedly influential in selecting Myanmar’s representative for Miss World this year. However, others defended Thae.

“Why farewell walk in Miss World, not in Grand?” one user questioned.

“Maybe her National Director in MGI is now the franchise owner of Miss World Myanmar, that’s why she did her final walk,” another commenter suggested.

“She is only 18 years old, why criticize a young girl for fulfilling her dream?” another user wrote.

Last year, during the final night of Miss Grand International in October, Thae placed second runner-up, behind representatives from the Philippines and India, who took first runner-up and the crown, respectively. However, Thae left the event visibly upset with her team shortly after the announcement, declining to participate in planned activities for the top five finalists.

In an Instagram live stream the following day, Thae revealed she would return her crown, stating she felt cheated out of two special awards: Best in National Costume and Country’s Power of the Year, as reported by ABS-CBN News. The Best National Costume awards went to contestants from Brazil, Ecuador, and Honduras, while Thailand received the Country’s Power of the Year award.

The MGI organization then announced on Facebook that it had rescinded Thae’s title due to “inappropriate behavior.”

MGI president Nawat Itsaragrisil, 51, later accused Htoo of pressuring Thae to renounce her title.

Meanwhile, Htoo claimed that Itsaragrisil had accepted US$25,000 from an Indonesian pageant official in exchange for a crown, according to The Straits Times. Itsaragrisil denied the allegation and threatened legal action unless Htoo, 29, provided evidence.