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| 4.27.2009 | Monday
• THE NEW MISS UNIVERSE NEW ZEALAND is Katie Taylor, 22, of Auckland. Taylor was selected from fifteen
competitors during an event held in Levin last night. Levin local 18-year-old Priyani Puketapu was the
first runner up. New Zealand national director Val Lott said more than 400 people attended the event,
which had received a lot of support from the local community. "It was great. . . It was wonderful having it in Levin,
a small town." The event was last year held in Auckland. (Stuff, New Zealand, 4/26/2009)
• THE NEW MISS UNIVERSE AUSTRALIA is Rachael Finch, 20, a TV presenter and model from Townsville, who
was crowned during the annual pageant held in Sydney on April 22nd. She will compete at the Miss Universe 2009
contest in the Bahamas next August. Originally from Townsville (Queensland), Finch beat more than 7,000 entrants
and 31 other finalists to take out the title at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney on Wednesday night.
• THE NEW MISTER UNIVERSE MODEL is Josh Day, 23, (photo) representing U.S.A., who was crowned Friday night in
Teatro Taíno of Hotel Barceló Premium in Punta Caña, the Dominican Republic. He won over Robinson Tajmuch of
Chile, Francesco Allegra of Italy, Mahmud Jan (a German resident representing Afghanistan), and
Luis Miguel Moreta of Cuba who were first, second, third and fourth runner-up respectively. See photos
from the event courtesy of Belleza Venezolana.
• HOLDING FIRM : After Carrie Prejean was named first runner-up to Miss North Carolina, Kristen Dalton,
on the April 19th telecast of the Miss USA Pageant, gay blogger Perez Hilton recorded a video on YouTube in
which he said Carrie gave "the worst answer in pageant history and that she lost because she is a dumb bitch."
On Tuesday morning's Today Show on NBC, Miss USA judge, Claudia Jordan, admitted that "a few of the judges
were very against her, they were bothered by her answer..." because Carrie said "marriage should be for a man
and a woman."
While many involved in the Miss USA Pageant believe the San Diego native lost
the crown because of her answer, the organizers of the Greater Miss San Diego Pageant say the judges are in the
wrong to continue their rants against Prejean. She spoke honestly, that's all you can ask for," says Debra Dodge,
assistant director of the Greater Miss San Diego Pageant. Dodge and Pam Wilson say in their Pageant they stress
that judges are supposed to judge the contestants on conviction. "We don't want the women to answer the question
and try to please the judge, we want them to be their own person," says Wilson.
Dodge and Wilson require their judges to understand the importance of setting
their own feelings aside. "I just don't think that you bash someone because you disagree with their opinions,
we're supposed to be celebrating differences," says Wilson. The Miss Greater San Diego organizers say they can't
speak on behalf of the way Miss USA is organized, but they say when it comes to their pageant, "you will never see
a judge like Perez Hilton on our panel." (San Diego 6, USA, 4/26/2009)
• MEET AND GREET : A California gay rights group is inviting beauty queen Carrie Prejean to meet with gay couples
and students hoping to change her mind about same-sex marriage. Equality California sent a letter Wednesday
to the reigning Miss California as a dustup continued to flare over the answer she gave to a question during the
Miss USA pageant. The 21-year-old Prejean, a student at San Diego Christian College, said she thought marriage
should be between a man and a woman. Speculation that her comments cost her the crown have made her a media
sensation and fueled debate about her views. Equality California executive director Geoffrey Kors says since
Prejean makes public appearances as Miss California, he wants her to learn more about the issue.
Prejean could not immediately be reached for comment. (San Diego 6, USA, 4/26/2009)
• QUEEN OF CONSERVATIVES? Carrie Prejean may have lost her shot at becoming Miss USA, but she has surely
won the hearts of conservatives. Miss California has been blasted since the Miss USA competition, when she said
on national television - much to the dismay of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton - she believes marriage should
be between a man and a woman. Her anti-gay marriage comments led to a huge furore, with many arguing that the
answer cost Miss California the Miss USA crown. But since then, Prejean has found a slew of supporters from
conservative bloggers and talk-show hosts, reports Poltico.com. An Alabama state legislator introduced a House
resolution praising her for speaking out against gay marriage.
In a press release, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins stated
his admiration and support for her and lauded her fortitude in the face of continued baseless personal attacks.
Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity told Prejean when she appeared on his television program that There's a lot
of people cheering you tonight that you stood on your principles, that you put the principles above winning.
Not enough people do that. And I admire you a lot for it. (ANI, Smash Hits, 4/26/2009)
• ANTI-PAGEANT PAGEANT : A South Korean women's movement which claims credit for driving the Miss Korea beauty
pageant off the airwaves is this weekend staging an alternative festival mocking traditional attitudes to women.
The Anti-Miss Korea Festival, which the movement has staged annually since 1999, is this year changing its name
to IF ("If you want to become a real Feminist"), chief policy planner Gang Soo-Jeong said Friday.
Saturday's event at a Seoul university will focus on economic hardships and sexual mistreatment faced by Korean women
during the global economic recession. "Amid the economic slump, discrimination against women in job opportunities,
for example, has become worse. Through this festival, we'll shed light on their adversities and give them a pep talk," Gang told AFP.
One skit mocks an apparent sex-for-favours scandal.
Actress Jang Ja-Yeon, 30, committed suicide last month after leaving messages
claiming that she was forced to sleep with high-powered media and entertainment figures to promote her career.
The festival also features a skit on a case involving another actress who unsuccessfully challenged a law which
criminalises adultery. Gang said the Miss Korea beauty pageant was taken off the air in 2002 "because our campaign
against it worked out pretty well." Although attitudes are changing, Korea has traditionally been a male-dominated society.
The US State Department's 2007 human rights report noted that "gender discrimination in the workplace remained a
problem." (AFP, 4/24/2009)
• FAME, FORTUNE & TURMOIL : William Prendiz de Jurado, the world's biggest pageant fan, wrote several
interesting and eye-opening articles commemorating past titleholders, some of whom have become his good friends.
You may read them in Miss News (scroll at the bottom of the page).
• TINA SYLVIA GOES TO CHINA : Massachusetts native and professional model Christina Sylvia is representing the U.S.
in the 2009 International Beauty & Model Festival being held in Kunming, China. The festival is organized by World Beauty
Congress which also produces the Beauty of the World pageant. Visit Tina's website.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, May 4, 2009
PHOTO CREDITS: Miss World New Zealand, Belleza Venezolana, Wire Images, Billboard, Reuters
• MISS USA 2009 REVIEW : Well, I finally saw the video of Miss USA 2009. Here's what I liked about the show:
the upbeat opening number showing the girls in sexy, shimmering two-piece outfit; a much longer choreography (last
year's was barely 16 seconds long); a beautiful, elegant and spacious stage; Crystle Stewart in her beautiful
Carlos Alberto gowns; the backstage scenes showing the staff prepping up the girls (thank you, MUO, for giving
the staff more airtime); the high quality of contestants; the new crown; and the new Miss USA herself Kristen Dalton of
North Carolina - who is the epitome of neo-American-princess-Grace-Kelly-persona - classically beautiful and
ethereal in her turquoise gown.
Another one I liked - Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza and Miss Teen USA
Stevi Perry twittering from their front seats. Discounting the fact that Tweeter was getting universal
exposure, twittering is but one way for MUO to reach out to its fan base - which is already apparent in its reinvented
and highly interactive website. It's great to see queens not just smiling and waving to the cameras but also
chronicling the event live. This is surely a first in any televised major pageant.
There's very little that I disliked, really. I had never heard of the musical
guests until I saw them perform on the show! Both acts are forgettable. The co-host Nadine Velasquez, though attractive,
was rather annoying. Is it just me, or why do Hispanic female co-hosts on English-language shows always come across as
ghett-hos? And my least favorite part: asking politically-charged questions to the finalists, especially when it involves
hot issues. The Q & A portion of any pageant gives the contestants a chance to reveal their personality or intellect, but this can be
done without asking them questions related to sex, religion or politics - three issues that always seem to stir controversies.
And if you happen to say the "wrong" answer, you could quickly be condemned instead of being praised.
That is the case of Miss California USA and first runner-up Carrie Prejean, who
had the misfortune of having picked a question from judge Perez Hilton: “Vermont recently became the 4th state to
legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?” To which Prejean responded:
“Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where
you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that
I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I
was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”
You can't blame Hilton for asking a perfectly relevant question. You can't blame Prejean
for stating an honest, albeit underdeveloped response. You can't blame Hilton for being disappointed with Prejean's answer, but
you can blame him for reacting virulently by lambasting Prejean in his post-pageant blog. No judge in his or her best civil senses
would dare persecute a contestant behind her back. But Hilton has not been exactly a pillar of civility, and that's his
trademark. On the other hand, a self-professed religious Christian beauty queen like Prejean - really - does not have any business
competing in largely secular beauty pageants that require exposing your flesh and inciting lascivious wolf-whistling
from straight men. And if she insists on competing anyway, then she should be prepared to remain neutral in her answers to questions,
because there is a way to remain honest with yourself without coming across as divisive, condescending or presumptuous (Prejean
still thinks that she could have won the crown had she had not picked the question from Perez).
The Perez-Prejean controversy certainly confirmed my position in several things.
That political incorrectness does not work well with pageantry where diplomacy and congeniality are stressed. That a contestant who
chooses to disobey or ignore her director or trainer is doomed to half-success or total failure; Shanna Moakler, a former Miss
USA and one of Prejean's state directors - the other is Keith Lewis - twittered, facebooked and mySpaced that Prejean ignored Moakler's
request to "cease and desist" from giving interviews to the press (aren't Christians supposed to obey authority?). That directors
should not be publicly condemning, criticizing or humiliating their delegates in public or in blogosphere; any type of rebuke
should be done privately. Discipline does not apply to contestants only; directors, too, must know how to restrain and
calm themselves in a crisis. I still have so much to say, but it's getting late and my eyes are about to fall off. Ciao for now.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, April 27, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: Twitter, Perez Hilton Blog, Reuters
The top 15 contestants worked the stage in white string bikinis designed by pop star
Jessica Simpson's swimwear line. Rocker Kevin Rudolf performed his song "Let it Rock," followed by The Veronicas, who performed
their single "Untouched" as the top 10 beauties showed off their choice of glittering evening gowns. Dalton's was a flowing,
blue Grecian number that stood out among a series of white gowns. Her title comes with a year's use of a New York apartment,
a public relations team, a two-year scholarship at the New York Film Academy and an undisclosed salary. The remaining semifinalists
were the delegates from Arkansas, West Virginia, Connecticut, Tennessee, Idaho, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas, South Carolina and
Virginia. Miss Wyoming USA Cynthia Pate, was voted Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants.
Miss West Virginia USA Jessi Pierson was voted Miss Photogenic through an online contest on the Miss Universe Web site.
(Associated Press, 4/19/2009)
For the first time in 20 years, I missed a live telecast of Miss USA! I had to attend
a photoshoot that dragged on for hours and I also confused the hour, thinking it would begin at 9 P.M. East Coast time! I will watch
the entire video tomorrow (I am writing this entry Sunday night @ 11:05 PM) after I get home from work and then publish my
review on Thursday.
• SWEDEN'S RETURN : After a few years of absence from Miss Universe, Sweden will be back. The national pageant is now run by
the Miss Sweden Agency, headed by national director Joakim Granberg who took over Panos Emporio, the incompetent
and wishy-washy franchisee who ended up not sending a delegate due to pressure from Swedish feminazis and from mismanagement.
The final is on June 6th in Södertälje on Sweden's National Day and Yvonne Ryding, Miss Universe 1984, will be one
of the judges together with Ann Wilsson, one of the jury members in Sweden´s "Dancing with the Stars." There are only
five delegates competing for the crown, and you can view them in the official site.
Info courtesy of Michael Knittel.
• THE NEW MISS SLOVAKIA is Barbora Franeková, 20, who was crowned Friday in Bratislava's Sibamac Arena.
Franeková will now go to Miss World 2009 pageant in South Africa in December. Her court includes first runner-up Sona Skoncová, 20,
who go to Miss Europe 2009 and second runner-up Aneta Valentová, 20, who will go to Miss International 2009.
• WOUNDED : While driving on her way home, someone threw a rock at Verónica Roberts, a former Miss Chile, and hit her left cheek
just below her left eye, causing severe wound. Apparently, Roberts was driving with her window open when the rock was thrown at
the left side. She stopped, looked in the rearview mirror, and noticed that blood was running down her face. She called her mother crying and
she felt nauseous. When she arrived home, she had already lost a lot of blood and was immediately taken to the hospital where she
stayed for a week. (La Cuarta, Santiago, Chile, 4/17/2009)
• JAILED : Iranian-American journalist, Roxana Saberi, a former Miss North Dakota, was sentenced to eight years in prison
last Friday by the Iranian authorities after being found guilty of spying for the United States. The jailing of Saberi
- a freelance who has worked for the BBC - seems certain to deepen tensions between America and Iran following
indications that, with Barack Obama in the White House, relations might finally be thawing. The BBC voiced extreme concern
at the "severe sentence". Saberi threatened to go on hunger strike to protest against her conviction. The threat,
conveyed by her father, Reza Saberi, follows her conviction after a trial in camera that began last Monday and lasted
a single day. "She is quite depressed and wants to go on hunger strike," he said, adding that he was trying to persuade
her not to. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has demanded that Saberi, who had been working in
Iran as a freelance journalist, be released.
Saberi, aged 31, has been held in the notorious Evin prison on the northern edges
of Tehran since her arrest. The espionage charges were announced last week. The US said that the allegations were
"baseless and without foundation". Saberi is a citizen of both the United States and Iran, but Tehran does not
recognize dual nationality. "She has been sentenced to eight years ... I will appeal," her lawyer,
Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said. The journalist's parents have travelled to Iran to help win their daughter's
release. (UTV News, 4/18/2009)
• BEHAVING BADLY : Mexico's representatives to Miss Universe and Miss World respectively - Karla Carrillo and
Perla Beltrán - may face disciplinary charges from their national director Lupita Jones and pageant
coordinator Ana Laura Corral. Both beauty queens have not been fulfilling their royal duties, such as showing up in events or arriving late - after their Holy Week
vacation. Likewise, they have not been attending obligatory training classes either. No decision has been made yet whether
or not the women will be dethroned. Beltrán expressed shock by the attitude of the organizers, saying that they never
communicated their feelings to her directly. "I don't have a clue of what's going on. The truth is that we didn't see
either Ana Laura or Lupita since we arrived. We arrived Monday from vacation and we committed ourselves to our
normal training classes," says Beltrán. She did admit that she and Carrillo had missed several classes, but she didn't
think that it would cause a major problem. Meanwhile, on several message boards, a rumour has been circulating that suggests
that Carrillo had gotten married secretly and that Beltrán was pregnant - which she vehemently denied.
(El Mundo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 4/19/2009)
• CORONARY PROBLEM : The new Miss USA crown looks spectacular and I prefer it to the old Mikimoto crown (I have never been a fan
of pearls, really). I have a feeling that the new crown will stay for a long, long time. Now the public will get to choose the
new Miss Universe crown, also manufactured by Diamond Nexus Labs. You can vote for your favorite crown here.
• SUPPORTING HER MENTOR : In a recent interview with TV Mag, Miss France 2001 Elodie Gossuin - now a regional council
member of Picardie and the host of a TV show about non-traditional "sports" - defends her former mentor Geneviève
de Fontenay (GDF), a/k/a The Hat Lady - from critics who say that GDF has not been too flexible with changes in the
Miss France pageant which is now presided by another ex-Miss France Sylvie Tellier. When asked if the voting
system should be changed (which is currently based on public votes), Gossuin said that Miss France should be selected
by the people and that the judges should only have 1/3 of the total vote. But the new Miss France Chloé Mortaud was
selected entirely by the judges. Gossuin also condemns scandals as a way to increase the pageant's popularity and
defends GDF's preservation of the idea of elegance: "I am 300% behind Geneviève. I admire her in her battle to defend
elegance that made this pageant successful. I am here if she needs me. I will never forget that I owe everything to Miss
France." (TV Mag, France, 4/19/2009)
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, April 27, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: Reuters, FilmMagic, Getty Images
• NEW LOOK : The Miss Universe Organization unveiled the new look of its website with three sections - one each for
Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. The new look includes new features such as blogs of experts and of Miss
Universe staff, featured videos/photos/contestant/expert, a community section with discussion categories. But before
you can post any comments, you must first open an account and select a user ID and password. The new look generated
heavy discussion is several pageant message boards. Those in favor of the new design think that it looks more modern
and more interesting especially with the interactive elements. Those who are not pleased think that it is too cumbersome and hard
to navigate. The separate domain names for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA are gone, so when you type them in, they automatically
default to missuniverse.com.
Personally, I like the new design mainly because of its interactive features. Now, anyone
can post comments whenever they want about anything related to the three pageants, and it appears that no one has
been moderating the boards - at least for now - which means that anything goes including insults, character assassination,
lies, and incessant ramblings. The lack of moderation extends to the videos where the contestants themselves can
pretty much say whatever they want. One of the most popular videos show Miss California USA Carrie Prejean and Miss Hawaii USA
Aureana Tseu bitching about the culinary idiosyncracies of another (unnamed) contestant.
You can watch the video here. A disclaimer in the beginning of the video
says, "The following comments and opinions are solely those of Miss California USA and Miss Hawaii USA, 2009." Perhaps someone
should start a new forum to discuss whether the disclaimer is for real or not.
• UNCERTAIN : The Estonian representative to Miss Universe 2009 Diana Arno revealed in a recent
interview that her boyfriend is helping her find sponsors for her trip to the Bahamas where the pageant will
be held in August. Arno said that her participation in Miss Universe is not certain due to lack of
financial support from the Miss Estonia organizers.
• DETHRONED? Several Spanish-language media outlets are reporting that Sofia Rudieva has been stripped
of her crown as Miss Russia 2009 after naked photos of her had been published on the Internet. The photos were taken
when Rudieva was a teenager. Her first runner-up Svetlana Stepankovskaya is supposed to replace her, but this has
not been confirmed. Rudieva's photo remains in the official Miss Russia website.
• SWITCHING TITLES : The Bulgarian media announced that Elitsa Lubenova,, 18, who placed second in Miss Bulgaria 2009
pageant on March 15th, is now replacing Antonia Petrova, 25, who actually won the Miss Bulgaria 2009 title, as
the Bulgarian representative to Miss Universe 2009 pageant to be held in the Bahamas. Why? Because Petrova confessed that
she had breast augmentation surgery and pageant officials believe that "Antonia's breast implants would be more acceptable
in Miss Universe than in Miss World." (Blitz.bg, 4/3/2009)
• MISS WORLD BRAZIL : The fabulous Novo Frade Hotel, in Angra dos Reis, will host the 2009 Miss World Brazil pageant.
Over 40 beauties representing Brazilian states and islands, will compete for the crown and the right to represent Brazil in
Miss World 2009, in South Africa. Starting on June 28, forty of the most beautiful women in Brazil will be competing in a variety
of preliminary events, including sports and modeling competitions, and the Beach Beauty contest, which will take place on the
shores of the hotel's exclusive and spectacular beach. The winner will be crowned on July 4 on a nationwide televised event.
She will be crowned by Tamara Almeida, Miss World Brazil 2008, and will then get ready to compete in Miss World 2009.
The new Brazilian titleholder will also serve as an ambassador for the NGO Friends of the Earth - Brazilian Amazon, promoting
environment protection in Brazil and abroad. Info courtesy of Miss World Brazil.
• DUI CHARGE : Miss Montana 2008 is facing a DUI charge after a Bozeman police officer pulled her over earlier this year
for driving with her headlights off. Twenty-three-year-old Jennifer Hepner of Great Falls was crowned Miss Montana 2008
in June and represented the state in the Miss America pageant in January. That was a few weeks after her January 3rd arrest.
Charging documents state that Hepner was pulled over about 2:30 a.m. and refused to submit to alcohol screening, breath
or blood tests. Her license was seized and suspended. Hepner pleaded not guilty at her initial court appearance and filed
a petition in Gallatin County District Court on February 4th. She says the traffic stop and arrest were illegal, and
the arresting officer did not follow proper procedure.(Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 4/9/2009)
• GETTING SERIOUS : The father of American journalist Roxana Saberi, who is charged by Iran with espionage, called on
Iran Thursday to free her and said in an exclusive interview with Associated Press Television News that he will not leave the
country until she's released. I demand them to release my daughter as soon as possible so that she can return to her normal
life and continue her job," Reza Saberi said. "I will stay here until she is freed."
Roxana Saberi, a former Miss South Dakota, has been living for the last six years in Iran,
working as a reporter for such organizations as National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp. The 31-year-old freelance reporter was
arrested in late January. A judge announced Wednesday that she had been charged with spying for the United States, a far
more serious development than earlier statements by Iranian officials that she had been arrested for working without press
credentials — and her own assertion in a phone call to her father that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine.
The judge told Iranian state TV that Saberi was passing classified information to U.S. intelligence services.
"Under the cover of a journalist, she visited government buildings, established contacts
with some of the employees, gathered classified information and sent it to the U.S. intelligence services," said the judge,
who under security rules was identified only by his surname, Heidarifard. "Her activities were discovered by the counterespionage
department of the Intelligence Ministry," Heidarifard said. Reza Saberi and his wife arrived in Iran Sunday and visited their
daughter Monday in Evin prison, which often holds political prisoners, north of Tehran. "We were allowed to visit her for
about 20 minutes. We talked to her. She was spiritually better than before. However, she was physically extremely thin and
weak but she said she eats now and is going to exercise. This gave us the hope that she will become better," Reza Saberi said.
Saberi will stand trial next week, the judge said, though he did not specify which day. (The Associated Press, 4/9/2009)
• SHE'S NOT STUPID : Miss Venezuela director Osmel Sousa told the press that Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza is not
stupid, this in the light of Dayana's seemingly naïve reaction to her trip to Guantánamo a few weeks ago. Osmel exclaimed,
"I am sure that she didn't say it in a way that they wanted it to be said. Dayana is far from being stupid. They need to see
who actually wrote the comments and how they were written. Dayana is not stupid!" Osmel also took offense to the bad intention
of the person who did the interview: "Venezuelan beauty queens are very well prepared and that's why they win so many crowns."
Finally, he thinks that negative criticisms against his Barbie-looking queens are made by "retrograde ultrafeminists" who are
jealous. (La Prensa, Honduras, 4/6/2009)
And in a recent interview with La Opinión, Dayana finally opened up and
defended her Gitmo comments. She said, "I think that people do not know the other side of Guantánamo, a town where families
live, where children grow up and go to school. And in my comments I referred only to my work as Miss Universe which is
completely recreational and not political. People hear what they want to hear... as Miss Universe my work is not to talk about
politics. It's ironic how people can transform things so drastically."
• RETURN TO THE SMALL SCREEN : Ex-Miss Universe Alicia Machado could soon be playing the lead role of the Mexican
version of a Colombian soap opera called "Hasta que la plata nos separe," according to the Internet website La Botana. The
Mexican version will be called "Hasta que el dinero nos separe." Machado took a hiatus from her acting career during her pregnancy
with her first baby, Dinora, who was born on June 27th last year. (La Opinión, Los Angeles, 4/11/2009)
• BROADWAY BEAUTY : Multiple Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh, back on Broadway in Irena's Vow, will host the third annual
Broadway Beauty Pageant, which will be presented April 20 at 8 PM at Symphony Space in Manhattan. The evening, according to
press notes, will "feature male cast members representing their respective Broadway shows, competing for the title crown
through talent, interview and swimsuit competitions. The contestants will go head to head in front of a panel of celebrity
judges, but ultimately, the final vote is in the audience's hands." Celebrity judges will include Beth Leavel, Seth Rudetsky,
Ana Gasteyer and Charles Busch. The 2009 contestants are James Brown III (Mr. Little Mermaid), Adam Fleming
(Mr. Wicked), Anthony Hollock (Mr. Hair), Tony James (Mr. Lion King) and David Larsen (Mr. Billy Elliot).
Past winners include Frankie James Grande (Mr. Mamma Mia) and Marty Thomas (Mr. Xanadu), who are both set to perform.
(Playbill.com, 4/9/2009)
Winehouse won the final round, when the last five contestants standing where asked
"What is the biggest problem facing women today?" Winehouse replied with: "No-one should be forced to go to rehab, you know what
I mean? I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine, he's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go, go, go."
Miss Australia, Miss France, Miss Brazil and Miss Japan were all too stoned to answer. All claimed they had been drugged.
Winehouse denied any knowledge of the suspecting drugging and walked away with the crown, which she later tried to smoke.
I know that I speak for all of Britain when I say "Well done Amy!" (The Spoof, UK, 4/10/2009)
• CRITICAL POLL : Who do you think should win Miss USA 2009? Leading the poll is Miss Hawaii, followed by California, Virginia,
Texas and Georgia. Vote for your favorite now!
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, April 20, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: Miss Universe Organization, Getty Images, El Pais, Flickr
• BUSTED FOR DRUGS : Life has certainly changed for a Maryland beauty queen, now busted on drug charges. Police arrested
Tia Shorts, Miss Maryland USA 2004, last Wednesday at her home in Germantown. Police say she and her boyfriend
were dealing drugs from their apartment. She's now charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine,
possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana. "I guess something must have gone wrong, or I mean obviously
we didn't know what was going on with them. There was more than meets the eye I guess." said neighbor Rebecca Straus.
It all went down at Shorts' apartment on Pickering Court. Police staked out the place Tuesday night after getting a
tip from a source that her boyfriend, Joey King, had heroin. Court documents say they spotted
King leaving the apartment and pulled him over a short distance away. Officers say he had heroin, crack cocaine
and large amounts of cash on him.
The next day, police kept the apartment under surveillance. Police say King's
brother and mother showed up at the apartment. When they left, officers pulled the car over. Court documents say the
pair had cocaine, a gun and more cash. Police say King's mother stuffed some of the cocaine into her bra. Inside
the apartment, police say they found 29-year old Shorts and more drugs, including marijuana. "It's shameful. It is,
because it's not a good example for the kids or the community." said Pamela, a mother who was playing with her children
outside the apartment complex. When told about the arrest, the Miss Maryland USA pageant coordinator, Angela Shealy
said "It's sad to hear the news for her. It troubles me and I am saddened to hear that. She's always been a
very lovely lady."
Just a few years ago Shorts seemed to have everything, a place in the national
spotlight. Now she's a beauty queen disgraced. "You can be glamorous and never know what you're doing undercover...
anybody can live a double life," said neighbor Shirletta Reynolds who had heard about Shorts' pageant title.
She was released on 10-thousand dollars bond. No one answered the door at her apartment today. Miss Maryland USA
organizers say they lost touch with Shorts after she ended her term. The onetime beauty queen was also named Miss
Amity, the equivalent of the Miss Congeniality Award. (MyFox. Washington, DC, 3/4/2009)
• ARRESTED FOR DRUNKEN DRIVING : former beauty queen is free on bond after her arrest in downtown El Paso for alleged
drunken driving. Raelene Aguilar was the 2008 Miss New Mexico USA (and 2000 Miss New Mexico Teen USA).
She was arrested just after 2 a.m. Thursday after an El Paso police officer stopped her for speeding and weaving on North Mesa Street, two blocks south of Interstate 10.
According to the police report, the officer noticed the 26-year-old University of Texas at El Paso student had droopy,
bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. She was booked into the El Paso County Jail on a charge of driving while intoxicated.
She posted a bond of $600 six hours later. Her attorney, Roger Montoya, said his client denies the allegations. (El Paso
Times, 4/4/2009)
• THE NEW TOP MODEL OF THE WORLD is Débora Lyra, 19, the representative of Brazil, who was crowned Saturday in Berlin, Germany.
Débora hails from the state of Espírito Santos and she was a 2009 Miss Earth Brazil's runner-up last November. The first runner-up was
Yolimar Sanchez of USA and the second runner-up was Diana Ivancheva of Bulgaria. The other two finalists came from Poland
and the Dominican Republic. Completing the semi-finals were the candidates from Zimbabwe, Kosovo, Sweden, Armenia, Guadeloupe,
Belarus and Bolivia. Info courtesy of Grégory Courtasamy
• THE NEW MISS PERU UNIVERSE is Karen Schwarz, a 24-year old professional model who represented Amazonas who was crowned
during an event held in Lima on April 4th. The first runner-up was Miss Ayacucho, Jessica Shialer, who will compete in
Miss Earth 2009 in the Philippines; and the second runner-up was Miss Ica, Sofia del Pino. women competed in the contest.
Courtesy of Peru.com/Espectaculos.
• UNIVERSAL GAFFE : Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela caused a global stir here after gushing over her
visit to the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, home of the "war on terror" prison camp. Mendoza, who works for the Miss
Universe organization - an NBC Universal and Donald Trump Partnership - visited Guantanamo as part of a USO
(United Service Organizations) tour that takes entertainers to visit US troops. "This week, Guantanamo!!! It was an incredible
experience," wrote the 22 year-old Mendoza on her Miss Universe-sponsored personal blog. "We had a wonderful time,
this truly was a memorable trip!"
Marines and soldiers showed Mendoza and Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart around the base,
then took them on "a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun! "We visited the Detainees (sic) camps and we saw the jails,
where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting," she wrote.
"The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable ... I didn?t want to leave, it was such a relaxing place,
so calm and beautiful." The Guantanamo "war on terror" prison opened after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United
States as a place to house "enemy combatant" suspects.
• UNIVERSAL CONDEMNATION : Local media pounced on Mendoza's comments. Globovision reporter Ana Karina Villalba said
it was necessary to better educate beauty queens - of which Venezuela is famous for producing - so that they know what is
happening around the world. "In Venezuela we should have broadly educated misses," said Villalba, remembering that a few years
ago a beauty queen said she loved "William Shakespeare's music." On local blogs, comments ranged from "Let's go vacation in
Guantanamo because it's soooo much fun!" to "We'd have to lock Dayanita up."
The Guantanamo prison is one of the most controversial symbols of former president
George W. Bush's legacy, where former detainees and human rights activists say the inmates are tortured.
The United States set up a naval base in Guantanamo after the 1898 Spanish-American war, when Cuba was freed of Spanish
colonial rule, then obtained a long-term lease on the site. The Cuban government that came to power after the 1959 revolution
however does not accept US control, and wants the bay under Havana's control. U.S. President Barack Obama
in January ordered the prison camp closed within one year. (AFP, 4/2/2009)
Still, the affair angered some Venezuelans, who said Mendoza had harmed their country's image by
speaking positively about Guantanamo, where 240 men remain locked up by the U.S. The beauty queens weren't the first celebrities
to go to the isolated U.S. Naval base in southeast Cuba. Country rocker Charlie Daniels was there in 2002, singing "The devil
went down to Gitmo, he was looking for some Taliban" in front of cheering soldiers. The Victoria's Secret models visited in
December 2007, and participated in a Christmas parade. Portland rockers Everclear were there in 2008 and Art Alexakis, the
band's leader, said "we had a great time." Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe last year at a pageant in Hanoi, Vietnam.
(Associated Press, 4/1/2009)
• BASHING DAYANA : Let me get this straight - if previous celebrities had visited Gitmo before and enjoyed their stay, then what
made Dayana Mendoza's visit any different? She blogged about it in a manner reminiscent of a giddy and naïve young girl, and
as a consequence, the so-called cultural elite automatically branded her as "dumb," or "stupid." This is the same group that
condemns beauty pageants in general and believe that virtually all beauty queens are superficial and unintelligent, which is, of course,
not true. It just so happens that the media tends to focus on negative things, and when the story involves a beauty queen, the media
spins it in a way that would make the beauty queen either totally pathetic or disagreeable, and the more the story is spun out of control
the more it sells. If she hadn't blogged about her Gitmo trip, I am sure the trip would have been a non-issue.
It was wise of MUO to have removed Dayana's blog entry and to have emphasized the notion
that Dayana's remarks - according to Shugart - "were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members
of the U.S. military and their families who are stationed in Guantánamo." Notice that Shugart did not apologize for Dayana's
comments. And why should she? It's free speech - and free speech should include the ability to offend. It's highly unlikely that
Dayana meant to offend or to dehumanize the Gitmo prisoners, but if they had been offended, then Muslim human rights groups
would have been calling for her to apologize and/or that Islamofascist imams would have issued a fatwa to kill her. Fortunately,
neither one is the case. However, one wonders why MUO sent its current Miss Universe
and Miss USA to Gitmo only now. And why haven't they sent their queens to Gitmo before George W. Bush became president?
• WHAT'S UP WITH MARTHA : Miss Universe 1968 Martha Vasconcellos has been living in Somerville (a Boston suburb) since
2000. Recently, she has been honored for her tireless service to the Portuguese-speaking community. Read more.
• CRITICAL POLL : Who do you think should win Miss USA 2009? Vote now!
• MISTER USA UPDATE : Ivan is "dressed to kilt." Also see pics from Ivan's Oz adventure!
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, April 10, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: TFTJ.com, TMZ, Associated Press
MARCH 2009
• THE NEW MISS WORLD NEW ZEALAND is Magdalena Schoeman, 18, (photo) who was crowned in a
spectacular beauty pageant extravaganza held at Dorothy Winstone Centre, Auckland this past Saturday.
Her court includes first runner-up Natalie Sangster who will go to Miss Tourism Queen International 2009
in Zhengzhou, China; second runner-up Kyla Hei Hei who will compete in Miss Leisure World; third runner-up Leilani Marsters
who will go to Miss International Model of the Year 2009 in Seoul, Korea; and Hannah Matthews who will compete in Miss
Global Beauty Queen 2009 in Harbin, China. Schoeman's first international trip this year will be to South Africa in June to be one of the guests at FIFA Confederation
Cup. Later in the year she will travel first to London and then to Johannesburg, South Africa to represent New Zealand at
the Miss World 2009 finals. Thanks to Rosie Foulger for this info.
Finch, who now lives
in Alexandria, Sydney, works for Platinum Television, a company that provides video contents for bars and events,
and is an ambassador for the Heart Foundation, the event organizers said. Courtesy of News.com.au 
| 4.23.2009 | Thursday
| 4.20.2009 | Monday
• THE NEW MISS USA is Kristen Dalton, Miss North Carolina USA, who was crowned on Sunday, beating out 50 other beauty queens
in the live pageant televised from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old aspiring motivational speaker
and entertainer from Wilmington edged out first runner-up Miss California USA Carrie Prejean, of San Diego,
second runner-up Miss Arizona USA Alicia-Monique Blanco, of Phoenix, third runner-up Miss Utah USA Laura Kirilova Chukanov
and fourth runner-up Maria Elizabeth Montgomery, Miss Kentucky USA. "It feels really natural," Dalton said of her win.
"I've worked hard to be here and this has been my lifelong dream and it's finally here. And whoever knew you could win in a
turquoise gown?"
| 4.13.2009 | Monday
(El Mundo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 4/12/2009)
• WHAT'S UP WITH PAOLA? After placing second in Miss Universe 1992 pageant in Thailand, Colombia's Paola Turbay (photo)
finished her studies in psychology and worked as a model and TV presenter. She then studied acting in Hollywood and starred in
the Colombian soap opera "Las noches de Luciana." She has made several guest appearances in the ABC series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"
as Cindy Lee and on the Showtime series "Californication." Here's an interesting anecdote: Paola was heavily criticized for
having sold the exclusive rights of the TV broadcast of her wedding (with publicist Alejandro Estrada Villegas) to a private
network RCN. Her wedding was compared to that of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Fifteen years later, Paola and Alejandro
are still together and living happily in Los Angeles. (El Pais, Cali, Colombia, 4/12/2009)
• SPOOFED UNIVERSE : Singer Amy Winehouse, (photo) representing Miss United Kingdom, has become the first ever drug addict to win the
Miss Universe Pageant, which was held in Poland on April 8th. 180 women representing 70 countries took part in the pageant,
which began one week ago and finished yesterday in Krakow's main planetarium. But, it seems, the Miss Universe Pageant was
littered with scandals and conspiracies. Miss USA had to withdraw from the final when she collapsed backstage on the morning
of the last day. After extensive testing, heroin, cocaine and dog's phaeces were found in the woman's blood, and a little on
her shoe. Miss USA claimed that someone had drugged her, but for the life of her, could not figure out who it could be.
No charges were laid.
| 4.6.2009 | Monday
Winners of the Femina Miss India 2009 contest seen, from left, Miss India Universe Ekta Chaudhary, Miss India World Pooja Chopra and
Miss India Earth Shriya Kishore, gesture after being declared winners in Mumbai, India, Sunday, April 5, 2009.
(AP Photo/Gautam Singh)
Mendoza's posting was quickly struck from her blog - not before the New York Times posted
it on its website - and replaced by a statement from the president of the Miss Universe organization, Paula Shugart.
The comments "were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the US military and their families
who are stationed in Guantanamo," Shugart wrote. Mendoza and Stewart have "traveled to many locations and many bases around
the globe including Iraq , Afghanistan , Japan , Korea and most recently, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba," Shugart said.