Swimsuits, singing, dumb questions, and smiling have always been part of the beauty pageant. But what about guns, drugs, lawsuits, secret pregnancies, lies and international incidents? Beauty pageant scandals have all of these and more going for them, taking beautiful and poised young women, giving them fame and money and seeing what happens. Many pageant queens and winners end up stripped of their crowns, and more than one of these scandalous pageant contestants has duked it out with the man behind the crown (at least one of them), Donald Trump.
So what's it take to rise to the level of true beauty pageant scandal infamy? Sometimes what happens is really bad. From contestants lying about having children to smuggling machine guns to pissing off various groups of the population, these pageant queens have done it all. In the world of beauty contests, nude pictures seem to surface from time to time too. While naked and topless photos might not seem like the most scandalous offense, they still have led to competition winners being stripped off their crown. Some of these beauty queens came out okay, some didn't. But all of these scandals are fascinating regardless.
Which pageant scandals from throughout Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss America history do you remember? Which of these crazy pageant queen stories do you think are most scandalous? Vote up the most scandalous pageants below and think twice next time you see a pretty girl in a pageant sash - she might have all kinds of skeletons in her closet.
- 1
Laura Zuniga Smuggled All the Guns
Months after being crowned Miss Hispanic America in 2008, Zuniga and seven others were arrested for racketeering, drug trafficking, weapons charges and money laundering after Mexican police caught the group carrying a small arsenal of weapons and fifty grand in cash. Zuniga insisted to police that she was simply headed to Bolivia and Colombia to go "shopping."
But authorities didn’t buy it, and she was stripped of the title. Zuniga was sentenced to 40 days in jail.
Is this scandalous? - 2
JonBenet Ramsey Was A Little Girl In Teenage Clothing
The ghoulish murder of the 6-year-old child beauty pageant contestant in 1997 was the first time many Americans had heard of the world of dressing up children to look like teenagers. The horrific nature of her murder, along with the botched investigation, bizarre ransom note, and suspicions toward her parents, the strange nature of child pageants themselves – and whether that world had anything to do with the girl’s death.
The case is still open.
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- Rob Kaminer
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
3Leona Gage Lied About Basically Everything
The winner of Miss USA 1957 held the crown for exactly one day, losing the title after her mother-in-law revealed that not only was she married with two children, but that she’d lied about her real age. Apparently Gage had met her husband at age 13, married at age 14 and had two kids by age 18 – all major no-nos in beauty pageant land.
The scandal made her a massive media figure for a short time, and she later published a book, attempted suicide, and married six times. She died at the age of 71.
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- National Police of Colombia
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY-SA 2.0
4Steve Harvey Crowned the Wrong Miss Universe
Chaos ensued when host Steve Harvey accidentally crowned the wrong Miss Universe in December 2015. He accidentally read the cue card wrong, and announced that Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo, aka Miss Colombia, was the winner. After she received the crown, she performed the traditional ritual wave to the crowd. Harvey came back out onstage when she was finished, and delivered the devastating news. Miss Colombia was actually the first runner up; the real first place winner was Pia Alonzo Wurztbach from the Philippines.
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- NBC Television
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
5Bert Parks - There He Was
Bert Parks, the longtime emcee of the Miss America pageant, sang the event's signature theme ("There She Is") and ran the show from 1955 until 1979. At that point, pageant organizers dumped the aging Parks, believing he was no longer a suitable public face for an event eager to attract younger viewers. Parks was fired with such little class that he learned of it in a reporter. Subsequently, Johnny Carson organized a letter-writing campaign demanding his reinstatement.
While Parks had a cameo on the show in 1990, he never appeared again and died two years later.
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- 6
MySpace Took Down Katie Rees
An early victim of social media, Miss Nevada USA 2007 resigned after compromising photos of her making sexualized poses in a nightclub were posted on MySpace. In 2008, she was arrested after an altercation with a cop, and was suspected of smuggling cocaine into Australia, though she was never charged.
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- Entertainment Press
- Shutterstock.com
7Danielle Lloyd Dated A Pageant Judge
The former Miss Great Britain 2006, Lloyd was stripped of her title after revelations surfaced that she had posed for Playboy and had dated one of the pageant judges.
After the scandal died down, Lloyd became a UK tabloid celebrity. She had allegations of racism made against her on the UK version of Big Brother, had four children, married and divorced.
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- 8
Sheena Monnin Fought the Trump, and the Trump Won
One thing you don’t ever want to do is call Donald Trump a cheat. But Sheena Monnin, Miss Pennsylvania for Miss USA 2012, made that mistake after resigning from the Miss USA program and accusing Trump and the other pageant organizers of a conspiracy to fix the contest. Although she’d signed a contract with the pageant saying she wouldn’t defame it, on the night of the 2012 Miss USA contest, she went on social media and called it "fraudulent," "lacking in morals," "inconsistent," and "in many ways trashy.”
An arbitration hearing found Monnin liable and ordered her to pay $5 million to Trump, and a judge later upheld the finding. Monnin then sued her own lawyer, and lost that case as well.
Is this scandalous? - 9
For A Long Time The Rule Was Miss (White) America
For quite some time, Miss America was only the queen of white people, with an incredibly racist clause stuck into the pageant’s bylaws stating that all contestants must be "of good health and of the white race." These codified prejudices in pageants were done away with, but many times not until the '70s.
One contestant, 2007's Miss California USA Christina Silva, thought this shameful legacy was still at work when her title was stripped due to a vote miscounting blunder. She sued the pageant, though later dropped the suit.
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- Marcel Indik
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY-SA 3.0
10Lindsey Evans Apparently Liked Her Weed
Miss Teen Louisiana Lindset Evans skipped out on a $46 tab at a restaurant in 2008, rushing out so fast that she left her purse, her driver's license and, allegedly, a bag of weed. She was stripped of her title and ended up in Playboy the next year.
Evans later became a model, and most notably was one of the dancing girls pawed by Robin Thicke in the “Blurred Lines” music video.
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- s_bukley
- Shutterstock.com
11Tara Conner Got a Second Chance
The winner of Miss USA 2006 was tarnished by reports of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as pictures of her kissing that year's Miss Teen USA winner. She subsequently tested positive for cocaine eight months into her reign, and seemed a lock to lose the crown.
Miss USA owner Donald Trump called a televised press conference, but rather than firing her, he gave her a second chance and let her keep the title. Conner went to rehab and now serves as a public advocacy consultant for Caron Treatment Centers, among other minor media roles. The incident also sparked the feud between Trump and Rosie O’Donnell.
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- 12
Helen Morgan Gave Up Her Crown
The Welsh Miss World winner in 1974 was forced to resign four days after her victory, upon the discovery that she had an 18-month-old son. Although this did not violate the competition rules, which stipulated only that entrants must be unmarried, she was forced out anyway – becoming the first Miss World winner to give up her crown voluntarily.
Is this scandalous? - 13
Carrie Prejean Angered the LGBTQ+ Community
When asked by openly gay Miss USA 2009 judge Perez Hilton whether or not same-sex marriage should be legalized, Miss California Carrie Prejean responded that she believed in “opposite marriage” between a man and a woman. Prejean came in second in the pageant, and claimed prejudice against her religious beliefs cost her the title.
The tables were turned on Prejean when topless photos emerged on the Internet, painting her not only as unfit to be Miss California but also as a hypocrite. Prejean eventually was stripped of her title, but bounced back by writing a book and marrying an NFL quarterback.
Is this scandalous? - 14
Morgan Elizabeth Woolard Supported A Controversial Law
Miss Oklahoma came in second in the Miss USA 2010 pageant, but some conservative commentators believe she was denied the top spot because her answer to a question about the controversial Arizona law SB1070. Woolard came out in support of the law related to controlling illegal immigration, drawing boos from the crowd.
One blogger wrote, “looks like the Miss USA pageant didn't want to risk the wrath of the open-borders, mob” and others questioned whether a conservative was intentionally passed over for a Muslim, eventual winner Rima Fakih.
Is this scandalous? - 15
Amanda Longacre Was Too Old
Longacre won the Miss Delaware 2014 title, but was stripped of it weeks later when it was decided she would be too old for the upcoming Miss America Pageant. She apparently had been told she had to be 24 by the time of the competition, yet turned 25 one month after the ceremony.
She unsuccessfully sued to compete in the Miss America pageant, but did get her scholarship money back.
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16Lauren Upton Choked On Word Salad
The reigning Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2007 was asked why she thought one-fifth of Americans can't find the United States on a map. A surreal deer-in-the-headlights word salad poured out of her as a response, featuring references to “US Americans” who don’t have maps, “The Iraq,” South Africa, and “Asian countries.” It was the butt of late night jokes for weeks.
Upton still took fourth in the Miss USA pageant, and has since competed on The Amazing Race and become a minor media figure.
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- Debby Wong
- Shutterstock.com
17Vanessa Williams Got Naked
The singer-actress shot to fame after winning, then resigned from, the 1984 Miss America crown. When Penthouse magazine obtained and released nude photos Williams had taken during her days as a photographer's assistant, a humiliated Williams was forced to give up the title. This was only months after becoming the first Black Miss America. But Williams persisted in the entertainment industry, and had the last laugh, earning Grammy and Emmy nominations.
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- Alix Kates Shulman
- Wikimedia Commons
- Fair Use
18Pageant Protestors Had Their Say In 1968
Four hundred women protested the 1968 Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, NJ, chanting, "Ain't she sweet, makin' profit off her meat." The protest also featured the crowning of a live sheep on the boardwalk and a mass dumping of aprons, dust mops, cosmetics, and bras into a Freedom Trash Can.
The spectacle spawned a counter-protest of 600 jeering men, and pageant MC Bert Parks, when asked what he would do if a protester crashed the stage during his signature performance of "There She Is," replied, "I'll grab her by the throat and keep right on singing." Thankfully, it didn't come to that.
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- The Nanny
- CBS
19Alicia Machado's Body Changed
Machado won Miss Universe in 1996, and quickly made headlines because of concerns about her increasing weight. Ever conscious of the image the crown brings with it, pageant officials threatened to sack her unless she trimmed down. Miss Universe owner Donald Trump wasn't much help, calling her "an eating machine" live on Howard Stern's show.
Machado did end up keeping her title and went on to be a February 2006 Playboy centerfold.
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- 20
Emily Kachote Lost Her Title After Nude Photos Surfaced
Shortly after being named Miss Zimbabwe 2015, Emily Kachote's title was revoked when nude photos of her surfaced online. The Miss Zimbabwe Trust said Kachote violated an agreement that she signed before the contest, promising she had never posed nude, nor would she in the future if she won the competition. Kachote maintains that the photos were taken before the competition began.
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- Sam Aronov
- Shutterstock.com
21Nia Sanchez Was A Multi-State Contestant
Questions of Nia Sanchez’s state of origin came up immediately after she won the Miss USA title in 2014. Apparently the reigning Miss Nevada had previous competed and lost in the Miss California USA pageant three times, raising questions as to whether she’d faked her Nevada residency to compete in an easier pageant.
Nothing was ever found, and she kept the Miss USA crown.
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- Paul Hakimata Photography
- Shutterstock.com
22Rima Fakih Was Seem In Pole-Dancing Pics
Rima Fakih won the Miss USA 2010 title in part for her performance in a string bikini in the swimsuit competition. But in a not-shocking display of hypocrisy, she got into hot water after photos surfaced of her pole dancing, fully clothed, during a 2007 Detroit radio show contest.
Fakih kept her title, but the controversy hurt her in the subsequent Miss Universe contest. She later had a drunk driving arrest, and is currently training to be a WWE Diva.
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- 23
Miss Lebanon And Miss Israel Created A Selfie International Incident
A simple selfie nearly started an international incident after a photo of four Miss Universe contestants, including Miss Lebanon Saly Greige and Miss Israel Doron Matalon, hit social media in early 2015.
Lebanon’s Greige later wrote that she’d been "cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel," and claimed that the Israeli Matalon had walked into the photo.
Is this scandalous? - 24
Marjorie Wallace Had Some Dalliances
Miss World 1973 was stripped of her title due to behavior deemed inappropriate for such an auspicious position. This included reported romances with high-profile men such as Tom Jones and soccer player George Best.
Wallace later became an anchor for Entertainment Tonight.
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