Mr. Gay World 2022 Has Been Announced

A new Mr. Gay World has been named.

Jose Lopez Duvont from Puerto Rico now takes up the mantle, according to a press release. Lopez Duvont is the first Latinx and first competitor from the Americas to win the international Mr. Gay World pageant.

"Lopez Duvont, who represented Puerto Rico in South Africa, presented a social impact project to address the body dysmorphia he suffered from as a child, and promote healthy lifestyles within the LGBTIQ + communities," the organization said.

The actor and model also won awards at the pageant for Best National Costume, Best Swimwear, Photogenic, and the Social Media Impact Award.

The organization has seen its share of controversy over the last year.

Pageant organizers hit former Mr. Gay World winner Louw Breytenbach with a gag order after Breytenbach made comments against the organization behind the pageant.

"The reason I entered the Mr. Gay SA and Mr. Gay World competitions respectively, was never about the title. I am passionate about charity, the work I started even before the competitions," Breytenbach said in a statement, according to South African newspaper The Citizen. "My intention was to use the platform to add a voice to the lgbtqia+ community, the Gates of Hope as well as Future Step. As winners, we tend to be blinded by the glitz and glam the contest brings."

He continued that his resignation as Mr. Gay World wasn't "to tarnish the reputation of the organization, but rather because of value differences."

"I was excited when I was crowned with lots of plans to build the gay community. But unfortunately, I could not achieve this dream," Breytenbach explained.

Breytenbach, 31, won the competition in October 2021, but the South African human rights activist and tv presenter refused to sign the final contract to be Mr. Gay World, The Citizen reported at the time.

The central issue was that whoever is Mr. Gay World must use the organization as his exclusive agent for bookings and acting roles.

Related: 36 Thirst-Quenching Photos of Former Mr. Gay World Contestants

"I don't need them to manage whatever TV opportunities I get. My suggestion was that they manage me based on opportunities pertaining to the pageant and my role as Mr. Gay World," he said.

He continued that he was also concerned with the group's "inability to be audited when they refused to divulge how funds are used for the Mr. Gay World Foundation."

"I think it is my right to know what happens to [the] money that I raise for the organization in my capacity as Mr. Gay World. Who is benefiting from all of [these] sponsorships?" he asked.

In response, Mr. Gay World organizers provided a statement to The Citizen rebuking Breytenbach's claims. The group said that those claims include "a series of defamatory allegations about the organization and its officials."