IN TERMS of misdeeds and misjudgments committed by beauty queens, 2008
was a bore compared to previous years. However, 2008 proved to be a challenging year for several pageants, as beauty contestants
spoke out against crass, deceitful or just plain rude pageant organizers who subsequently found themselves struggling to rebuild
their reputation, that is, if they could. For Mark Ancheta, we'd like to think that we have seen the end of his pageant business days.
In spite of the negative things that occur in pageantry, it will never run out of eager participants and actors. As Shakespeare said,
"All the world is a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances; Each man in his time
plays many parts." Which part will you or I play in 2009?
EXPOSED BEAUTIES
• Last May 2007, former Miss Universe CECILIA BOLOCCO was photographed topless alongside an Italian male friend on the terrace
of her house in Miami. The photo caused a huge scandal which ultimately caused Bolocco and her husband, ex-president of Argentina,
Carlos Meném to file for divorce. In February 2008, a new photo of a topless Bolocco was captured by the Argentine magazine Caras;
this time, Bolocco was sunbathing on the terrace of her Miami home accompanied by her son, Máximo who is four years old.
She was observed relaxing with books and cigarettes.
• CINDY FABRE, Miss France 2005, graced the cover of the French edition of FHM. Fabre had a seven-page layout in the men's magazine,
in sexy poses - exactly the thing that would ticked off her former mentor and president of Miss France, Geneviève De Fontenay.
Fabre has already stated that De Fontenay would not be happy.
The photos were taken on the beaches in south of France.
• In August, Miss Vietnam 2006 MAI PHUONG THUY revealed that she would display nearly 100 photos of herself posing nude
"in keeping with Vietnamese culture and tradition" but is discreet regarding to what extent her nudity goes. Thuy said that
the nudity captured is "very Vietnamese and nothing extreme."
• Naked photos of DAYANA MENDOZA, Miss Universe 2008, appeared all over the Internet during the month of August. Mendoza had posed
totally nude for an Italian brand of jewelry. The Miss Universe Organization said that the photos were not pornographic at all
and that they were done in good taste.
• In September, RIYO MORI, Miss Universe 2007 (photo), posed nude as part of her campaign against breast cancer. In the photo taken
by famous Japanese photographer Mika, Riyo is covering her left breast. She is also wearing a spectacular necklace by Boucheron
and exquisite sandals by René Caovila.
• And to close off the year, Miss Venezuela and Miss Universe 1998 first runner-up VERUSKA RAMIREZ took it all off in the
December edition of Venezuelan Playboy magazine.
STAINED, STALWART OR STRIPPED BEAUTIES
• In late March, the 2007 Miss River Queen and first runner-up in the 2007 Miss Tennessee USA pageant was arrested.
LINDSEY BLAKE HALLIBURTON, 19, was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on charges of public intoxication, criminal
impersonation and an alcohol violation.
• In April, HARSHITA SAXENA, the Pantaloons Femina Miss India Earth title winner, surrendered her crown after
landing in a legal soup for breaching a contract with her previous modelling agency Gladrags. Harshita was forced
to surrender the title when Maureen Wadia, president of Gladrags beauty pageants, sent her a legal notice for violating
the contract that the 20-year-old had signed with the company and complained to the Femina Miss India organizers.
"Harshita was in a two-year contract with us. As per the agreement, she was not supposed to participate in any other
contest without our permission. By winning the Miss India Earth crown, she has breached the contract," said Wadia.
• In May, FELICITA ARZU was stripped off her title as Miss Belize World by Margaret Johnson, the president of Pageants Belize
who said that Arzu "had abandoned and breached her contracts and obligations with Pageants Belize."
• ZACK VASQUEZ (photo) Cuba's original representative to the 2008 Manhunt International contest that took place in Korea in May, had been
disqualified after contest organizers learned that Vasquez had previously posed nude in Playgirl and Men magazines.
It was also reported that Vasquez is U.S.-born and has never set foot in Cuba.
• In July, KIM JU-YEON, the second runner-up in the 2007 Miss Korea beauty pageant who is at the center of an abortion
scandal involving Pohang Steelers football player Hwang Jae-won, has been stripped of her status. Kim claimed that Hwang
had persuaded her to terminate her pregnancy. Kim's profile has been removed from the homepage of the Miss Korea pageant,
and she did not show up at the 2008 Miss Korea, which is traditionally attended by the previous year's placed beauties.
The Hankook Ilbo, which hosted the event, said it decided not to pursue lawsuit for damages caused by the scandal on condition
that Kim relinquish her connection with the Miss Korea pageant.
• In October, JOVIN KOH was stripped of his Mister Singapore title for failing to fulfill his obligations, for not answering e-mails
and calls, and for refusing to represent Singapore in the Mister International 2008 pageant.
• Miss Louisiana Teen USA LINDSEY EVANS, was stripped of her crown by pageant officials with just a few days left in her reign.
The perky blonde, 18, - who was 3rd runner-up in Miss Teen USA 2008 - was arrested in October after a dine-and-dash went wrong.
She and three pals allegedly tried to skip out on a $46.07 bill at the Posados Café in Bossier City, Louisiana), but Evans
left her purse behind at the scene. When she went back to retrieve it, cops nabbed her on account of the unpaid bill and what
they believe to be marijuana that was found in her bag. She and her three friends were booked on charges of theft and marijuana
posession and will be arraigned in January.
• In October, JANINA SAN MIGUEL resigned as the Philippines' official representative to the 2008 Miss World beauty pageant.
"The untimely demise of her grandfather, among other personal reasons, has caused her undue stress, thus hindering her
from fulfilling her duties for the said title," the pageant organizers stated.
• LAURA ZUÑIGA, a Mexican beauty queen has been sentenced to 40 days jail after she was arrested with an alleged Ciudad Juarez
drug cartel leader and a group of heavily armed men "for probably committing crimes" relating to drug trafficking and
transporting weapons, according to the office of Mexico's attorney general. As a consequence, Zúñiga was stripped of her
title as Reina Hispanoamericana and lost her right to represent Mexico in Miss International 2009.
BEAUTIES WITH BALLS
• In January, former Miss USA SHANNA MOAKLER blasted Hollywood's party girls for the "sick and sad" way they behave - because she
fears too many wannabes feel they have to be outrageous to get famous. The reality TV star, who was married to rocker Travis Barker,
has taken aim at Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears for their controversial antics.
• In January, VALERIE BEGUE, (photo), Miss France 2008, stated that she would sue TV host Thierry Ardisson for insulting her during his
chat with Geneviève de Fontenay on his show "Salut les Terriens!" Ardisson, referring to Bègue, exclaimed: "Quelle pute, hein!"
("She's such a whore!"). Ardisson also showed the so-called scandalous photos of Bègue on the TV screen, while De Fontenay remarked
"unacceptable" or "it's not the image of Miss France." Bègue did not wait too long to retaliate; she immediately contacted
her lawyer who would file charges against Ardisson, his production company Téléparis and the Canal + network. Bègue believes
that there is no more reason to show the photos since the French court has already condemned the magazine Entrevue for
having published them in bad faith. In early March, the man suspected of having sold her sexy photos to Entrevue magazine
was arrested and put under investigation.
• MARILE BARRIOS, who was crowned as Miss Paraguay International 2008 in April, returned her sash, crown and even
her bouquet of flowers (that had already wilted). Barrios no longer wanted to be queen because she claims that she
does not have any money to pay for her airfare to Japan for the Miss International pageant in October.
• In May, Miss Pakistan World 2008 MAHLEEJ SARKARI surprised everyone by saying she 'loved' Musharraf and wanted to 'date' him.
She even had pictures of herself blowing kisses at a Musharraf portrait posted on a website. Sarkari was publicly berated for
'bringing a bad name to Pakistan'.
• In a June poll conducted by TV Mag (the French equivalent of TV Guide), 59% of the French said that they wanted VALERIE BEGUE
to remain as Miss France 2008, while 84% said that they did not support Geneviève de Fontenay, the director of Miss France.
De Fontenay was skeptical about the poll: "These results contradict what I often hear in the streets. Valérie Bègue is rejected
by both Miss World and Miss Universe, as if she never existed!" Bègue said otherwise: "This poll is important because it proves
that the French are behind me. Perhaps they also condemn De Fontenay's hatred towards me."
• YUAN JING, 22, a Chinese lawmaker quit the Miss Chinese International Pageant in October after facing criticisms that
her participation was debasing politics. But Yuan, who ranked second out of 1,000 contestants in the pageant held by
a Hong Kong TV station, insisted she did not withdraw due to pressure. "I'm too busy to continue the contest. I have
a heavy workload," she said. Yuan is a deputy to the National People's Congress, from the eastern province of Jiangsu.
One of China's youngest deputies, she is also an alternate member of the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee.
She was inducted into politics at a young age because she proved herself to be an efficient leader of a militia group
comprising young women. But Internet users in China have complained about her participation in a beauty contest given
her political background.
• In late October, Chile's Supreme Court sentenced journalist Victor Gutierrez for sixty days in jail for having slandered
former Miss Universe CECILIA BOLOCCO. Last August while appearing on several Chilean and Argentine TV shows, Gutiérrez
claimed that Bolocco had an affair with Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho from June 1999 until Octobre 2000 when Bolocco was
already dating ex-president Carlos Menem of Argentina. The Supreme Court ordered Gutiérrez to pay Bolocco an indemnity
for $45,000.
During the entire 2008, GENEVIEVE DE FONTENAY (photo) - who prides herself for being a
classy aristocrat dame - continued to criticize Miss France Valérie Bègue in public. She says, "I will spend the entire year with Miss Pays de Loire (Laura Tanguy) and I will not take care of Miss France.
She can go wherever she wants. I don't want to see her ever again or be next to her." Also, during the first regional pageant of
the year that took place two weekends ago, De Fontenay commented: "Bègue is not tall. She's flat-chested and she's ordinary."
In an interview with TV Magazine, De Fontenay expressed her contempt with this statement: "She should have resigned.
When I think that she is getting a Peugeot after getting a Twingo in Reunion, it's quite scary!"