Miss California allowed to keep crown
Miss California Carrie Prejean, who criticised gay marriage, has been allowed to keep her title despite appearing in a string of topless photographs.
The beauty queen broke pageant rules by appearing in the photos but was given a reprieve by Donald Trump, who owns the Miss Universe Organisation.
Speaking today at a press conference, Trump said: “We’re in the 21st century,” adding that Prejean is a model. He said he had examined the topless photos and found them to be “fine”.
Prejean added her views were the same as President Barack Obama’s, saying: “The president of the United States, the secretary of state, and many Americans agree with me in this belief.”
During last month’s Miss America contest, Miss Prejean had been asked by blogger Perez Hilton for her thoughts on gay marriage. She replied: “I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.”
She was booed and went on to lose the contest. It later emerged that despite her apparently strict Christian views, she had posed for topless photographs.
She said they had been taken when she was 17, but the latest images to be released were apparently taken last year.
Pageant officals had also accused her of abandoning her Miss California duties to become a spokesperson for the anti-marriage brigade.
Yesterday, Prejean apparently compared blogger Hilton to Satan.
Appearing on a conservative Christian radio talk show with host James Dobson, she said her answer to Hilton’s question on gay marriage pitted her against the Devil.
“I felt as though Satan was trying to tempt me in asking this question,” she said.
“And then God was in my head and in my heart saying: ‘Do not compromise this. You need to stand up for Me and you need to share with all these people…you need to witness to them.'”
She said God had asked her: “Carrie, how bad do you want this? Are you willing to compromise your beliefs for a one-year crown of Miss USA?”
