Skip to main content

Trump: NBC, Univision abandoned '51 wonderful girls'



Donald Trump says Univision and NBC "abandoned" the 51 women vying for the Miss USA crown by canceling the upcoming pageant telecast.


Organizers of the annual event, half-owned by Trump and scheduled for July 12, are arranging for a live-stream of the pageant now that the two networks have backed out of airing it.


Univision and NBC did so, they said, because of the offensive nature of Trump's comments about Mexican immigrants. The broadcasters were facing sustained protests from Hispanic leadership groups.


Trump, however, didn't mention the Hispanic community's outcry during an event for his presidential campaign in New Hampshire on Tuesday evening. Instead he focused on the "51 wonderful girls" who were affected by the cancellation.


"What NBC and Univision did to these young women was disgraceful," Trump said.

Trump said he'd be traveling to Louisiana next week to attend the pageant.

The controversy over Trump's depictions of some immigrants as "rapists" and "drug-dealers" came to a head last week when Univision canceled its plans to air Miss USA and all future events produced by the Miss Universe Organization.

Trump owns half of the organization that oversees both the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants. NBCUniversal owns the other half.


NBC followed Univision on Monday and said it would not air Miss USA, either.

On Tuesday afternoon Trump said he was filing a $500 million lawsuit against Univision. He did not mention a potential suit against NBC.


Trump with Miss USA 2013 Erin Brady


Earlier on Tuesday, the organizers of Miss USA vowed to move forward with the event, despite NBC's decision to pull it from the schedule.

"We are disheartened by recent events but the show will go on," the Miss Universe organization said in a statement Tuesday morning. "We are moving forward, full-steam ahead as planned for the next two weeks, culminating in the crowning of a new Miss USA on July 12."


But the event faced another setback in the afternoon when professional dancer Cheryl Burke said she'd no longer serve as co-host of the pageant. A short while later, a spokesman for NBC confirmed that the other co-host, MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts, had also withdrawn from hosting duties.




Cheryl Burke, Thomas Roberts and Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez attend the 2015 NBC New York Summer Press Day on June 24, 2015 in New York City

"In light of the recent statements made by Donald Trump and the subsequent decision by NBC to cut ties with Mr. Trump, I cannot in good conscience move forward with participating in this year's Miss USA Pageant as its co-host," Burke wrote on Facebook. "Effective today I have withdrawn from my duties with Miss USA."Roberts tacitly confirmed his exit in a tweet on Tuesday: "Best of luck to all #MissUSA2015 contestants this year & THX to the good people behind the scenes @MissUniverse - been a joy working w/you!" 

NBC had no further comment on the pageant.

Meanwhile, Miss Kansas USA Alexis Railsback, said that the pageant was "kind of taking the brunt for Donald Trump's speech." Railsback, a third-generation Mexican-American, told the Kansas City Star that Trump "does not organize the pageant, he does not run what goes on."
Miss Kansas Alexis Railsback says the Miss USA pageant is suffering because of Trump.
Miss Kansas Alexis Railsback says the Miss USA pageant is suffering because of Trump
 "That's a personal decision that he made to make that speech and to run for president, and I don't think it is really related to the pageant in any way, other than the fact that he is the co-owner," Railsback said. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Trans-Identified Male Crowned “Miss Greater Derry 2023,” Takes Home Women’s Scholarship

A local beauty pageant is attracting ample mockery on social media after a trans-identified male was crowned the winner of the competition and awarded a scholarship intended for young women. Brían Nguyen , 19, was awarded the crown in the Miss Greater Derry pageant, held on November 8 in the Greater Derry area of New Hampshire. The competition is a locally-run event under the national Miss America series of pageants. In addition to winning the crown, Nguyen will receive the  Miss Greater Derry Scholarship , a financial award established to support young women. Nguyen, who is male, is a freshman at Nashua Community College majoring in Business Management. After his win, Nguyen wrote on  Facebook : “ I am ecstatic to be the FIRST transgender woman to be a Miss America local titleholder, and I hope to make everyone proud and become the first to walk the Miss America stage. I am Brían Nguyen, your Miss Greater Derry 2023 .” Nguyen had previously announced on Instagram that he has intention

Miss America CEO & Others Resign Amid Scandal Over Offensive Emails – Update

2nd UPDATE, 12:03 PM:  Miss America Organization  CEO  Sam Haskell  resigned his post today amid an investigation into offensive emails he sent about a pageant winner. In a statement He has resigned along with president and COO Josh Randle and Lynn Weidner, the board chair who sent emails involved in the controversy. Related Two More Ex-Fox News Employees Join Defamation Suit Against Bill O'Reilly - Update According to a Twitter post from Dan Meyers, who is taking over as interim chairman, Weidner will remain on the board during a transition period: View image on Twitter Miss America Org ✔ @MissAmericaOrg Update from the Board of Directors... 3:01 PM - Dec 23, 2017   35 35 Replies     144 144 Retweets     291 291 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy UPDATED, 5:30 PM:  The Miss America Organization suspended its chief executive today, less than 24 hours after emails surfaced in which he disparaged the

Miss USA Vice-President Max Sebrechts Accused Of Sexual Harassment

IMAGE COURTESY: MISS ACADEMY  Max Sebrechts, the husband of Crystle Stewart, President of Miss USA organization (and formerly Miss USA 2008), has been accused of sexual improprieties by several Miss USA 2021 contestants, according to a YouTube video “Miss USA Scandal?” by Natly Denise, a “truther and pop-culture enthusiast.” You can watch the entire video here: https://youtu.be/8xM2jXL6MXw On her video, Natly displays a screenshot  of an anonymous email sent to the affiliates of IMG/Endeavor including to Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO). The email was cc’d to Crystle and Michael Hannah (franchise director of Miss USA). The author of the email claims that MUO has been sent substantial evidence of Sebrechts’ sexual predatory behavior and Shugart has known about it for a while but didn’t say anything (obviously to cover it up and to protect Crystle). Natly also displays screenshots of direct messages sent to her by former Miss USA contestants (the names hav