Phongsavanh Souphavady was crowned Miss World Laos 2021 on 31st March 2021 at Landmark Riverside Mekong Hotel, Vientiane Capital. Souphavady succeeded Miss World Laos 2019 Nelamith Soumounthong for the title and became the official representative of Laos at Miss World 2021 which is scheduled to be held in Puerto Rico in December this year.

But soon after she was crowned, the news of the diva misrepresenting her age to compete at the beauty pageant started to circle around the beauty pageant world. According to various sources, a photograph of Souphavady’s government-issued identification card was leaked to social media, with her birth year listed as 1991, despite the beauty queen claiming to be only 26-years-old.

A user on social media mentioned, that the beauty had participated in a contest in 2007, when she was 16-years -old, by 2021 the actual age cannot be 26. Some even shared photos that were supposed to be Phongsavanh's identity cards, with the caption: "We understand it was your dream, but you deceived the whole country, so because of this, we will not support you.” In addition, some people revealed that Phongsavanh was born into a wealthy and powerful family, so she may have asked her family to win the beauty award.

The angry and disappointed fans have asked the organization to remove the diva from the given title and either the first runner-up to be appointed or someone else. Phonvilai Luanglath was adjudged as the first runner-up while Aliya Inthavong was adjudged as the second runner-up at the end of the event finale.

Saykeo Sidavong, the president of Miss World Laos 2021 quickly spoke up about the incident on the official page of the contest on the morning of 2nd April 2021 and released a statement, that said that they had no intention of ignoring the incident and asked the public to give this unit 14 days for Phongsavanh Souphavady to prove her true age, to clarify the allegations aimed at her. The organization also said that if the new beauty does not clearly explain everything and prove that the accusations from netizens are false, they are ready to handle her by stripping her crown, title and finding a replacement.

Souphavady also holds an Honors Degree of Bachelor of arts in accountancy and financial management at University of Portsmouth. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Banking and Finance at Bangor University. Phongsavanh Souphavady is yet to comment on the incident.