-After Stellar Performance at Miss Cosmo 2025
By Jerromie S. Walters
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Liberian model and beauty queen Kindness Wilson has regained across-the-board public admiration following her acclaimed performances at the Miss Cosmo 2025 pageant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, marking a substantial shift after months of public backlash over her past behavior.
Wilson, Liberia’s official representative at the international pageant, is a fashion designer and Environmental Science student known for her resilience. Born during Liberia’s civil war and raised across two countries, she has often emphasized the power of perseverance in her personal and professional journey.
The turnaround in public sentiment occurred after Wilson’s unique stage walk during last week’s event. She captivated attendees and drew praise online from Liberians, many of whom asserted she was “born for pageantry.” During the competition’s formal platform presentation, Wilson focused on Reducing Inequality—one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—telling judges that inclusion and recognition are essential to creating a better world.
“I am big on inclusion, and inclusion really starts with recognizing, and we all need to be recognized,” Wilson stated. “The more you recognize someone, the more special they feel. They feel included… We can work on reducing inequality and providing inclusion for everyone.” Her advocacy earned her a special award, the Cosmo Impactful Beauty Award, placing her among the top 26 contestants.
Reflecting on Her Top 26 Finish:
In a reflection shared via her official Facebook page on Sunday, Miss Liberia’s Kindness Wilson framed her success on the international stage not just as a personal achievement, but as a pioneering national moment of digital-age unity. She described the experience as a collective victory for her nation. Wilson emphasized a profound sense of national solidarity, stating she “felt the heartbeat of Liberia” throughout the competition.
Her words: “I saw us beginning to navigate a global stage that is now digital, connected, and driven by the power of a community’s collective touch.” Wilson framed the effort as a national project in mastering a new form of global engagement. “Our impact is measured not just by our steps on the runway, but by the digital strength we build together,” she observed, calling this unified support a critical “final piece of the puzzle” for international presence.
While celebrating the Top 26 achievement, which she declared “belongs to all of us,” Wilson positioned it as a foundational step. The true prize, she suggested, is not a crown but the durable unity being forged. “The crown is beautiful, but the togetherness we are cultivating is everlasting,” she stated.
Concluding with a forward-looking message, Wilson noted, “Every time we unite in these new spaces, we are building a bridge for the next generation to walk across,” she wrote, affirming, “This is just the beginning of what we can achieve when we move as one.”
Ahead of Cosmo 2025:
Kindness Wilson’s appearance at Miss Cosmo 2025 followed severe public criticism late last year, when videos circulated online showing her making errors while singing Liberia’s national anthem during a major competition in Thailand. Controversy escalated on March 31, 2025, after another video emerged in which Wilson publicly assaulted Jumel Cassell, a Stella Maris Polytechnic University student who had criticized her anthem performance.
The assault incident sparked extensive public attention and social media debate, leading the Monrovia City Court to issue a writ for Wilson’s arrest on charges of simple assault, menacing, and disorderly conduct. Although the case was initially dismissed by Stipendiary Magistrate Ben Barco on October 27 due to “unreasonable and unjustifiable delays” by prosecutors, the state later filed a motion to rescind that dismissal, and the case remains ongoing. Wilson has since publicly apologized for her actions.
In a separate earlier incident, Wilson faced criticism for incorrectly stating in a video that Liberia gained independence in 1947 in Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to her Miss Cosmo participation, Wilson served as Miss International Liberia and was first runner-up in the Miss Liberia pageant.
Miss Cosmo 2025, the second edition of the pageant, was held at Creative Park in Ho Chi Minh City on December 20, 2025. Ketut Permata Juliastrid of Indonesia crowned Yolina Lindquist of the United States as her successor at the event, which featured 33 participating countries. The Miss Cosmo Organization had announced Vietnam as the host country on August 22, 2025, with events scheduled from November 28 to December 20 at the same venue.
