Miss USA Beauty Pageant Gets Ugly

One writer dubbed last weekend’ Miss USA pageant “a beauty of a controversy” - and indeed, it’s gotten ugly.

In case you haven’t followed the flap, here’s the crux: Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was the front-runner, a shoe-in even to her fellow participants, until well-known blogger Perez Hilton asked if she supported same-sex marriage. (Watch the clip above.) Prejean said no, explaining that “in my country, and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

Her controversial answer elicited a mixed reaction from the crowd and visibly upset Hilton,, who is openly gay. The statement cost Prejean the title. And now it’s war.

Watch behind the scenes swimsuit competition.

On Sunday night, Hilton unleashed a vicious attack in his widely read column, first saying “she gave the worst answer in beauty pageant history, and then calling her crude names that can’t be reprinted her. He later apologized, but retracted the apology after the San Diego Christian College student gave an interview saying that she “felt sorry” for him.

“I can only say to him that I will be praying for him,” said Prejean. “I think he’s angry, I think he’s hurt. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. He asked me specifically what my opinion was on that subject and I gave him an honest answer.”

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Some criticized her for giving an answer that was out of touch with the state she represented. Yesterday, Miss California director and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, previously a close friend of the contestant, put out a statement that said, “Prejean’s opinions do not stand for those of the Miss California family.” E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic was so outraged today that she took to Twitter and said of Prejean, “she is an ignorant disgrace and she makes me sick to my stomach.”

Pageant host and Access Hollywood anchor Billy Bush fired back. “Guiliana…if you were a jouranlist, you would have edited yourself at the last minute, but you are on E! and that’s good too.”

Rancic replied: “Billy, you’re knocking E!??? Are you suddenly a hard-hitting anchorman? Speaking of editing, you spelled “journalist” wrong.”

Miss Vermont, Brooke Werner, who represents the latest state to legalize gay marriage, also chimed in. “Everyone has the right to their own actions, but I totally disagree with Carrie,” she said. “I have a very different perspective on gay marriage and I would never had said what she said.”

Miss USA goes green.

Prejean was defended on Fox News by Republican commentator Andrea Tantaros. “The double standard is astounding,” she said. “I didn’t hear the outrage when Joe Biden said that he and Barack Obama are against gay marriage. No incendiary language, no insults, no four letter obscenities.”

Thus far, Prejean, who’s been linked to Olympian Michael Phelps, doesn’t seem bothered by the flap. “I feel like I’m the winner. I really do,” she told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush, also the pageant’s host, on “The Billy Bush Show.”

She noted that she had 1,000 new messages on Facebook and 2,000 friend requests.

Lest anyone forget, though, Miss North Carolina, Kristen Dalton, a 22-year-old motivational speaker, won the title of Miss USA.

“Definitely the best contestant won!” said Hilton.

More on These Topics: Carrie Prejean | Miss USA | Perez Hilton