After many contestants walked off the stage when this year’s Miss USA was crowned, allegations were hurled at the pageant that the winner was chosen because of favoritism.
R’Bonney Gabriel, Miss Texas, became the first Asian and Filipina American to win the title on Monday night, but after she was crowned and the credits rolled the contestants behind her, in an unprecedented move, walked off the stage rather than stand behind her and applaud.
“Was Miss USA rigged? I don’t know; I’ll let you be the judge of that,” Miss Montana, Heather Lee O’Keefe, said in a TikTok video.
“Most of the Miss USA contestants feel very strongly that there was favoritism towards Miss Texas USA and we have the receipts to prove it,” O’Keefe added.
“You can see them exiting the stage before she even turns around. All of them. Not one of them stays on stage to congratulate her or run and hug her,” former contestant Jasmine Jones stated in a TikTok video. “In my pageantry opinion, something was off about that. In my ten years asa contestant, I’ve never seen the girls walk off stage and not congratulate the girls that’s won.
“Miss Texas/USA was allegedly flown to and from Cancun. Mid-July, via the Miss USA sponsored-airline United. She was the only contestant to receive this special kind of treatment and receive a solo trip to Cancun,” O’Keefe stated.
“We are putting our titles on the line, putting our reputations on the line,” O’Keefe said on Instagram Live, according to The Daily Mail. “That’s how strongly we feel about believing and standing up for what is right. There is many of us who have even said we are willing to relinquish our titles to take this stand because that’s how serious we are about this.”
O’Keefe ripped organizers, sponsors, and judges of the Miss USA pageant, saying, “Lol @ all of the sponsors, judges, staff, etc. watching my stories and videos. I see you. When will y’all speak up? Silence is compliance.”
Other contestants also alleged something fishy was going on; “I am at a loss of words since it goes to show there were many signs that the winner was already predetermined and myself, amongst all my other sisters, weren’t even given the chance to lose,” Alexandra Lakhman, Miss New Jersey wrote.
Miss New York, Heather Elley, added, “The way I entered this pageant and gave it every last bit of my heart and soul. I had limiting beliefs of the outcome and did everything to ignore ALL the signs,” Yahoo News reported.
“We all just acted, in the moment, what we thought was right,” O’Keefe said. “We are a class of Division I athletes, Harvard alumni, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and people who fought for their citizenship to this country. … We are the farthest thing from sore losers.”
Gabriel responded to the accusations, telling E! News that the pageant “was not rigged. … I would never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win. I have a lot of integrity.”
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