R'Bonney Gabriel says the Miss USA rigging allegations were a 'huge distraction' while preparing for Miss Universe

• R'Bonney Gabriel said the Miss USA allegations were a distraction while she prepared for Miss Universe.
• Multiple Miss USA contestants said the pageant had been rigged in her favor.

Preparing to compete against women from all over the world for the title of Miss Universe is stressful as it is.

But R'Bonney Gabriel also had to deal with controversy surrounding her Miss USA win in the lead-up to the global pageant, which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday.

After she was named the next Miss Universe, Gabriel sat down with Insider to discuss her unique journey to the crown, and she revealed that the rigging allegations that followed her Miss USA win were a "huge distraction."

Just hours after Gabriel won Miss USA on October 3, contestants from her class took to Instagram and TikTok with claims that the Miss USA organization had either rigged or heavily favored Gabriel during the competition.

"It really threw me for a loop," Gabriel told Insider. "I was definitely not expecting it."

As the contestants' allegations began making headlines, Gabriel said she wanted to speak out but felt like she couldn't.

"The hardest part was I felt like I didn't have a voice at times as Miss USA. I wanted to stand up for myself and say, 'Hey, this is false. This is very frustrating,'" she said. "But I wanted to compose myself and carry this with grace because I was in the public eye. I wanted to show people how you can push back from adversity and be resilient."

"There were times where I would get so frustrated," she added. "But I always remembered that I had a bigger picture and I'm Miss USA, so I needed to set an example and not let emotions get the best of me."

Gabriel said her support system of family, friends, and coaches helped "pick me back up and help me out of bed when I didn't feel like it." She noted that she also had support from some women in her Miss USA class, including Miss Nebraska Natalie Pieper.

"There were days I felt low," she said. "I felt very delayed in my process a lot of the time, but I had Miss Universe always on my mind."

Following the rigging allegations, the Miss Universe Organization launched a third-party investigation, and Crystle Stewart, who was president of Miss USA at the time, was suspended indefinitely. A spokesperson for the organization told Insider that the investigation found the Miss USA judges' scores were accurately recorded and no winner was pre-selected.

Gabriel told Insider her Miss Universe win on Saturday night was the "sweetest victory" and she hopes it proves that she deserved the Miss USA crown.

"No matter if people try to knock you down or there are misconceptions about you, you can't let that get to you, just keep going and you'll get what you deserve," she said.