Critical Beauty

Veronika Didusenko , who was recently named Miss Ukraine at the country's national beauty pageant, was stripped of her title after pageant officials learned that she lied about being a divorced mother in her application. Didusenko was crowned the winner of the Miss Ukraine pageant in the country's capital of Kiev on September 20. But her reign as queen didn't last long after the pageant committee decided that she was to be disqualified on Monday. The Miss Ukraine organization  released a statement  regarding the 23-year-old's disqualification which said, "In accordance with the Rules for conducting the National Beauty Contest Miss Ukraine, a person who wishes to take part in the National Beauty Contest 'Miss Ukraine' must comply, among other things, with the following requirements (valid for the period of the Contest): – not / was not married; – has no children." The pageant statement continued,  “The same requirements are indicated in t

Photo credit: El Nuevo Dia Kiara Liz Ortega, 24, representing the municipality of Rincón, was crowned  Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2018  Saturday night at San Juan's Centro de Bellas Artes. She was crowned by  her predecessor Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2017 Danna Hernández. Ortega will now represent Puerto Rico at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant to be held on December 16 in Bangkok, Thailand.  The first runner-up is Alejandra Pagán of Vega Baja and the second runner-up is Alexandra Porrata of Ponce. This is the first edition of Miss Universe Puerto Rico under its new director, Denise Qui ñones who herself was Miss Universe 2001. Photo credit: Miss Universe Puerto Rico Facebook

Miss America 2019 Nia Imani Franklin is mobbed from after she was crowned at Boardwalk Hall. (Photo: THOMAS P. COSTELLO, Asbury Park Press via USA TODAY NETWORK) NEW YORK (AP) — The  Miss America  ceremony subtracted the swimsuit competition for the first time in its 98-year history, and subtracted one million television viewers, too. The Nielsen company said 4.34 million people watched the annual ceremony on ABC Sunday, down 19 percent from the 5.35 million viewers last year. Declining viewership has been a consistent trend for the pageant over the past few years. With Miss America now under the leadership of former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, the swimsuits were left behind. Instead, they were replaced by onstage interviews where contestants talked about President Trump, the NFL player protests and other topics. Yet the decision has been the subject of criticism. Minutes before the nationally televised broadcast began, a comedian warming up the crowd mentione

  And the crown goes to... Miss New York Nia Franklin.  She edged out her 50 fellow competitors Sunday night in Atlantic City.  After being crowned, Franklin expressed her gratitude. "I'm feeling really blessed right now," she said. "I want to thank God because without him I wouldn't be standing here. It took a lot of perseverance to get here, and I just want to thank my beautiful family for coming, my mom and my dad, who's a survivor of cancer, and I love him so much. I want to thank all of my sisters behind me. We've had a wonderful week together, and I love each and every one of you." During the competition, Franklin offered herself as an example when asked how she would promote a healthy body image. "I would start by sharing my story," she said. "I grew up at a predominately Caucasian school and there was only 5 percent minority, and I felt out of place so much because of the color of my skin. "But growin

UPDATE (9/22/2018) : The Chelsi Smith Foundation has been created by Chelsi's family and the Board of Directors to make grants and awards available to those charities and initiatives that were close to Chelsi's heart. Please consider donating via the official website:  https://www.chelsismithfoundation.org/ ________________________      THE PAGEANT WORLD is mourning the loss of one of the most beloved beauty queens of all time, CHELSI SMITH , Miss Universe 1995. According to information posted on Facebook on September 8, 2018 by her mother, Mary D. Trimble, Chelsi had been suffering from a long illness (reportedly liver cancer).      Shanna Moakler, who became Miss USA 1995 after Chelsi was crowned Miss Universe 1995, posted a touching tribute to the beloved beauty queen:       I was totally shocked upon hearing her untimely passing. Her positive, witty, and humorous postings on her Facebook page hardly reflected the condition of a woman - who was still