Here Are the Biggest Beauty Pageant Scandals

The origins of beauty pageants can be traced to ancient Greece and the medieval age. 

According to PBS, pageants started as a "contest of physique" at festivals and photographic competitions. Since the first Miss America pageant in 1921, those early iterations have transformed into a public display for contestants from different countries and cultures to showcase their talents, thoughts on social issues and, yes, physical appearance — all to win the coveted prize of a crown and, in some cases, career advancement and scholarship opportunities. Whether the major four international beauty pageants — Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth — or Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, each year a group of hopefuls begins the long, arduous process of competing for the title before traveling the world to represent their respective state, country or territory. 

However, for all its benefits, pageants have not been without their controversies. Drawing criticism for promoting unrealistic beauty standards and objectifying contestants, there have been former winners whose past actions had later consequences, which affected their pageant results. Not to mention, the gaffes made onstage and the legal trouble contestants have found themselves in after being crowned.

Ahead, the biggest beauty pageant scandals and blunders to emerge from the pageant world over the years.

Caroline Jurie

Pushpika De Silva, a pageant queen who won the title of "Mrs. Sri Lanka" in April 2021, said she was injured after her crown was forcefully removed from her head onstage by a former winner.

The incident was captured on a televised broadcast of the ceremony, which showed De Silva being named the winner of Mrs. Sri Lanka before her crown was taken by Caroline Jurie, who won the pageant in 2019 and was the reigning Mrs. World in 2020.

In a video of the crowning ceremony published by the Colombo Gazette, Jurie cited a pageant rule that prevents women who have been divorced from winning the title.

"There is a rule that you have to be married and not divorced, so I am taking my first steps in saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up," Jurie told the audience.

De Silva later said she is not divorced, and that she'd be taking legal action against Jurie. Days later, Jurie gave up her own crown and was also arrested for the incident, though released on bail. In a video post, she said she "will always stand for what I believe is right," and that she was only pushing for a "fair stage."

Ramsey Carpenter-Bearse

In December 2019, former Miss Kentucky Ramsey Carpenter-Bearse admitted to sending nude photos of herself to a 15-year-old — and faced up to two years in prison for her crime.

"Since I am the adult, and he was just a teenager, it is my fault, and I accept full blame for the situation," Carpenter-Bearse, then 29, said in court on Dec. 17 that year while pleading guilty to a charge of possessing material depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct, WOWK-TV reported. "So that's how I'm guilty of this crime. I messed up big-time."

In July 2020, she was sentenced to two years in prison.

Carpenter-Bearse was crowned Miss Kentucky in 2014. After her reign, she began working as a teacher in West Virginia. According to a 2018 press release issued by the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, Carpenter-Bearse was charged last year with distributing obscene materials to a minor.

According to a criminal complaint first obtained by the Associated Press, the student's parents informed authorities that they had found lewd pictures on the boy's phone. The pictures, which were allegedly sent via Snapchat, had been saved to the phone's camera roll.

Sarah Rose Summers

Miss USA 2018 Sarah Rose Summers issued an apology ahead of the December Miss Universe competition that same year after she caught heat for an Instagram video in which she appeared to mock the English language skills of some of her fellow competitors.

"@MissUniverse is an opportunity for women from around the world to learn about each other's cultures, life experiences, and views. We all come from different backgrounds and can grow alongside one another," Summers wrote alongside a photo of herself and her fellow contestants embracing one another.

Summers continued, "In a moment where I intended to admire the courage of a few of my sisters, I said something that I now realize can be perceived as not respectful, and I apologize. My life, friendships, and career revolve around me being a compassionate and empathetic woman. I would never intend to hurt another. I am grateful for opportunities to speak with Nat, Miss Cambodia, and H'Hen, Miss Vietnam, directly about this experience. These are the moments that matter most to me."

Summers was still allowed to continue in the Miss Universe pageant, though did not win.

The Miss Massachusetts Competition

A beauty pageant contestant gave up her Miss Plymouth County crown and title after a skit in the June 30, 2018, Miss Massachusetts competition mocked the #MeToo movement.

Maude Gorman, who has been outspoken about being gang raped when she was 13, shared a post on Instagram announcing her resignation.

A video shared by the Observer shows the off-color comedy skit, in which a woman asks a person dressed up as God why the Miss America was eliminating the swimsuit competition.

"We may have very well seen the last ever swimsuit competition on stage. It's very upsetting" the woman said. "And I'm trying to understand, God, why it happened."

"Me too, Amy," he replied, holding up a #MeToo sign and drawing laughs from the audience.

The Miss Massachusetts Board of Directors later apologized for the joke on Facebook.

Miss America CEO Sam Haskell

In December 2017, Sam Haskell, the head of the organization, resigned after the Huffington Post ran a story exposing several inappropriate emails written by the Miss America CEO, including some that discussed the sex lives and body types of past contestants. Board chair Lynn Weidner also resigned, as did board member Tammy Haddad, who was party to some of the emails. Per The New York Times, following the email exposure, 49 past Miss America winners reportedly signed a petition calling for Haskell's resignation, with several speaking out on bullying they'd faced during their time with the pageant.

Lu Parker

Miss USA 1994 and Emmy-winning KTLA news anchor Lu Parker made headlines instead of reading them when she was arrested for taking a fellow passenger's $200 headphones at LAX in November 2016. Parker allegedly removed the earbuds from the TSA passenger screening area; the item's owner identified her and she was removed from her flight, Variety reported.

KTLA later released a statement on the matter, saying the passenger forgot the headphones and Parker took them with the intent to return them.

"When she was unable to locate the owner, Lu boarded her flight. We believe this is a misunderstanding, Lu is cooperating fully with the authorities and we are confident she will be able to clear this all up," read the statement.

By agreeing to complete Los Angeles’ Neighborhood Justice Program, Parker ended up not facing criminal charges for taking the headphones, per the Los Angeles Times.

Karlie Hay

Shortly after Karlie Hay, from Texas, was crowned Miss Teen USA 2016 in Las Vegas, tweets containing a racial slur surfaced from an account belonging to the 18-year-old. The Miss Universe Organization, which owns the pageant, condemned the tweets but said Hay would keep her crown and the organization would support "her continued growth." 

Hay echoed those same sentiments in an Instagram post, writing: "Through hard work, education and thanks in large part to the sisterhood that I have come to know through pageants, I am proud to say that I am today a better person."

Génesis Dévila

Despite winning the Miss Florida USA 2017 title on July 16, the pageant queen was stripped of her crown days later, after violating pageant rules by getting her hair and makeup professionally done during the competition — a claim Génesis Dévila denied. 

"I still feel like I'm Miss Florida USA because I was crowned Miss Florida USA that night," she said, adding that she has hired a team of lawyers to fight the decision. "Even though all these false accusations and allegations and rumors have been wandering all over social media, I know that I have proof to show the world that none of this is true."

Though a lawsuit was filed, the Miami Herald reported it was dismissed that October and that the terms were kept confidential.

Brandi Weaver-Gates

After shaving her head and faking leukemia — all the while bilking sympathetic and sometimes dying donors out of thousands of dollars — Pennsylvania beauty queen Brandi Weaver-Gates was sentenced to two to four years in state prison, plus five years of probation, for multiple charges of theft.

"She actually stole that time and money from giving people who were actually suffering from cancer, some of who lived near her and have since passed," said Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller. "I only hope this singular incident by a selfish person will not dampen [the community's] endless capacity for helping those in need."

Ariadna Gutiérrez and Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach

Sometimes, the biggest pageant scandals are actually the fault of the show's hosts. Case in point: the 2015 Miss Universe competition, which sent the Internet into a frenzy after host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia, Gutiérrez, as the winner, even though it was Pia Wurtzbach — a.k.a. Miss Philippines — who actually won the crown. Despite the mix-up, both women took it in stride, with Wurtzbach laughing off the flub as "a very non-traditional crowning moment." Gutiérrez, meanwhile, said, "Everything happens for a reason," as she left the stage.

Katherine Rees

The former Miss Nevada was arrested in 2015 and charged with possessing and selling meth. Still, Katherine Rees is no stranger to scandal: In 2007, she was stripped of her title after sexually explicit images of her appeared online, and, in 2009, she was questioned by officials in Sydney, Australia, under suspicion of being in possession of cocaine. She later stated on an Australian TV show, "I don't do drugs."

Emily Kachote

Miss Zimbabwe 2015 was stripped of her title in June 2015 after she admitted to posing for nude photos. The Miss Zimbabwe Trust said in a statement that all contestants are required to swear in an agreement that they've never posed naked, nor will they should they win the competition. Emily Kachote's dethronement was the second consecutive one of its kind — the previous year's winner, Thabiso Phiri, also lost her title after her own nude pics surfaced.

Saly Greige and Doron Matalon

Lebanese Miss Universe 2015 contestant Saly Greige and Miss Israel Doron Matalon were at the center of an international firestorm after a photo of the contestants (with Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia) ended up on social media on Jan. 18. A refresher: Lebanon and Israel have been at war since 2006, and Lebanese citizens can be imprisoned for coming in contact with Israelis. Amid talks that her title be revoked, Greige defended herself on Instagram, writing that she'd been "cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel," adding that Matalon jumped into a picture without asking first.

Jamie France

Though the 2009 Miss Teen Oregon-World champ kept a low profile following her win, in November 2014 her name was in the news — and not for good reasons. Jamie France was arrested with two other individuals on methamphetamine charges after she was found in a Salem, Ore., hotel room that contained a few grams of heroin, cocaine and meth, plus a record of drug sales, according to KTLA 5. Her co-defendants face more serious charges, including child neglect, after their home, where a 4- and 7-year-old also lived, was found to contain numerous drugs and "chaotic conditions."

Amanda Longacre

Some say that age is just a number. However, that wasn't true for Amanda Longacre, who won the Miss Delaware 2014 title, only to lose it two weeks later when pageant officials decided she would be too old to compete in the upcoming Miss America Pageant (she was told she had to be 24 by the time of the competition, and she was to turn 25 one month after it ended). Though her scholarship money was returned, ABC News reported that Longacre filed a lawsuit on July 15 seeking to be reinstated as Miss Delaware and to be allowed to compete in the Miss America pageant.

Nia Sanchez

Nia Sanchez represented Nevada in the Miss USA pageant — but the question of whether she even lived there came up immediately after she won the Miss USA title in 2014. Skeptics claimed the model and occasional Disneyland princess faked her residency in Nevada to avoid the stiff California competition after discovering she'd competed in the Miss California USA pageant and lost three times. Either way, she beat out Miss California when it counted — and kept her crown.

Elizabeth Fechtel

Another recount in Florida? Five days after college student Elizabeth Fechtel was crowned the 2014 Miss Florida, officials announced there was a scoring error and she was actually the first runner-up — Victoria Cowen would be the one moving on to compete in Miss America.

"Initially, it was completely devastating," Fechtel told PEOPLE.

After the initial shock, the University of Florida junior maintained a positive outlook and focusing on her mission to empower young leaders.

"I've been 'de-crowned,' " she said, "but I still see immense opportunity. I can channel my energy to my platform whether or not I'm Miss Florida."

Alicia Machado

Alicia Machado was crowned Miss Universe 1996, and shortly after was thrust back into the headlines, this time with concerns about her increasing weight. Pageant officials threatened to replace her unless she trimmed down, which she did — but not before Miss Universe owner Donald Trump referred to her as "an eating machine" live on Howard Stern's radio show in 1997.

She became a hot topic in the 2016 presidential election when Hillary Clinton brought up Trump's quotes in the pair's first debate. Machado became an American citizen in 2016 and campaigned heavily for Clinton.

Vanessa Williams

It was the scandal that started them all. Before she was a multi-talented singer and actress, New York's Vanessa Williams was stripped of her 1983 Miss America crown after Penthouse released nude photos of the beauty queen taken during her days as a photographer's assistant. 

"I feel as if I were just a sacrificial lamb. The past just came up and kicked me," Williams told PEOPLE at the time. 

She gave up her title just months after her historic win as the first Black Miss America but went on to receive other accolades — including multiple Grammy and Emmy nominations. More than three decades after her resignation, Williams returned to the pageant in 2015 as a judge and received a public apology from the organization's CEO.

Tara Conner

Miss USA 2006 had a little too much fun celebrating her title. Reports surfaced of drug and alcohol abuse, and Tara Conner tested positive for cocaine about eight months into her reign. Trump called a televised press conference, but instead of stripping the beauty queen of her title, he gave her a second chance — and Conner agreed to go to rehab. She now serves as a public advocacy consultant for Caron Treatment Centers.

Carrie Prejean

Miss California Carrie Prejean caused quite a stir when she weighed in on the hot-button topic of whether or not same-sex marriage should be legalized. Asked by Miss USA 2009 judge Perez Hilton, who's an out gay man, Prejean responded that she believed "marriage should be between a man and a woman."

The controversy continued when topless photos of the blonde beauty emerged on the internet. Prejean was, at first, allowed to keep her title, but ultimately lost it for violating her contract and her "unwillingness to make appearances on behalf" of the Miss USA organization.

Caitlin Upton

Poor Caitlin Upton. Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2007 made a major gaffe when asked by guest judge Aimee Teegarden why she thought one-fifth of Americans can't find the United States on a map. Her fumbled answer called out "the Iraq" and "Asian countries" and their need for the support of the American educational system. The unfortunate answer became YouTube gold, but, hey, at least she finished as third runner-up.

Rima Fakih

After hitting the nightclubs a little too hard, the 2010 Miss USA earned a rep as a party girl, almost missing a CNN interview after a late night on the town, and getting slinky on a stripper pole (which the organization later determined was part of a pole-dancing class). Lebanese-born Rima Fakih, who represented Michigan in the pageant, was the first Muslim contestant to wear the crown and had already drawn criticism for her racy antics. When stories began to escalate, pageant officials sent her back to her home state to mull over the pressures of the title. Ultimately, however, Fakih finished her reign — and defended her actions. 

"Miss USA is just a real woman, a real human being who is an adult and has her own opinion and can make her own decisions," she said, per HuffPost.

Lindsey Evans

Unfortunately for Lindsey Evans, Louisiana has not yet legalized marijuana, so when the Miss Teen Louisiana skipped out on a $46 tab at a restaurant in 2008 and left behind a purse with her driver's license and, allegedly, some pot, she was stripped of her title (via TMZ). Sadly, the mishap undermined a year's worth of hard work. 

"She's done a good job this year," admitted Paula M. Miles, president of the pageant's production company.

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