Miss California's comments on gay marriage produce controversy at Miss USA

[ccharles000]

Carrie Prejean, who finished runner up to Kristen Dalton in the pageant, nevertheless produced the biggest reaction from the audience when asked about legalising same-sex marriage.

"We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage," Miss Prejean said. "And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offence to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

Some in the audience cheered, others booed.

In mid-2008, California became the second U.S. state, after Massachusetts, to make marriage licenses available to same-sex couples. However high profile campaign against the decision and a number of legal challenges have left the status of the unions uncertain.

The Miss USA pageant had enjoyed a scandal-free year until earlier this month, when Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza was skewered for a blog posting from a trip to Guantanamo Bay. The entry described having "aloooot of fun" at a base that houses the notorious military prison; it was later deleted from the pageant's web site.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5186455/Miss-Californias-comments-on-gay-marriage-produce-controversy-at-Miss-USA.html

[Turbineguy]

1. She's entitled to her opinion

but I would not go to her for financial advice either.

[vadawg]

2. yup we can agree to disagree with other people, it keeps discourse civil n/t

[Toucano]

29. And I am entitled to criticize her bigoted opinion.

Just as I would if she made an anti-Semitic or racist statement.

[trumad]

3. It's the old should I kick her out of bed for eating crackers dilemma.

[bluescribbler]

14. Of course you should

There's more room on the floor. :evilgrin:

[Tabasco_Dave]

4. She is an unimportant person

I really don't give a shit what she has to say.:hurts:

[Hepburn]

22. Ditto....

...who cares what the hell someone who participates in a beauty pageant has to say.

:shrug:

[polichick]

5. Well, imo ditzy chicks are what can you expect from dopey pageants.

[hisownpetard]

6. I flipped past the channel when it was down to the final two and thought I was seeing double!

I mean, honestly, at that point they could've just flipped a coin. They looked like mirror images
of each other.

Someone needs to break the mold!

[boobooday]

7. Yeah, it's like a contest to see

who can look the most like what they all look like. Weird.

[ejpoeta]

9. isn't that society's goal??? everyone looking the same. have to dress the same

per the fashion folks. have to look the same. what are the odds that EVERY news anchorwoman would be blonde!! i mean, how many of those cable news shows could interchange people and no one would know. they all basically look the same. in this society, we shun anyone different and everyone is supposed to strive to be like the popular kids.

[droidamus2]

17. Wait a minute

Are you telling me the news bimbos and bimboys are real. Damn I thought they were computer generated.

[ejpoeta]

19. LOL! they might as well be.

[Le Taz Hot]

20. LOL!

I thought EXACTLY the same thing. Blond hair? Check. Blue eyes? Check. Anorexic? Check. Vacuous pampered look? Check.

[hisownpetard]

21. And don't forget those big white teeth, vaselined to perfection so their smiles don't get stuck!

[ejpoeta]

8. i'm glad to know that a person can believe that their own personal beliefs should be

the law of the land. my personal belief is that beauty pageants should be outlawed. there. now we can just pass a law and be done with this. because apparently just a person believing something should be so should be enough for it to be the law.

[vadawg]

10. hell if enough people agree with you then pageants would be outlawed

just because i dont agree with someone about something dosent mean i can force them to change their ideas, i guess its what makes life interesting.

[ejpoeta]

11. that's what i mean. if you don't believe in gay marriage, then don't marry another person of the

same sex. but don't go trying to push your ideas on everyone else. THAT is democracy. people having the freedom to decide for themselves. no one is trying to take away the religious folks rights... just trying to have our own too. i'm sure if pageants were outlawed, this girl would see it as an infringement on her rights. but as long as it's someone else's right being trampled, then it's A-OK!!

[get the red out]

12. Fundy nuts think women's looks are all that matters

so what can we expect from a beauty contestant? She was raised to be totally plastic and shallow by some kind of nuts so this is her programmed response.

[doctor jazz]

13. They do have a way with words, nu?

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some, people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as, uh, South Africa and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children."

[galaxy21]

15. She was asked for her opinion and she gave it, so she didn't do anything wrong

As for Perez being pissed off...he should never have asked that question if he was only expecting one answer.


And, anyway, whose idea was it to ask bimbos about important social topics? Does anyone care what beauty contestants think about anything?

[lunatica]

16. "That's how I was raised" is the last bastion of the bigots

They hide behind their obviously prejudiced views with "That's how I was raised".

[RadiationTherapy]

45. Closely followed by "that's just what I believe"

[galaxy21]

18. I think beauty contestants are a lot more conservative that people realize

These women often come from middle class families with pushy stage moms, and are used to projecting a wholesome image of morals and values.

I'd even venture to say that most of them would have given roughly the same answer had they be asked about it.

[hisownpetard]

23. Did you happen to notice which states the 5 finalists were from? Not too many

(if any) from the North, IIRC.

[tabbycat31]

27. ever watch the shows on child beauty pageants?

I will admit that "little Miss Perfect" is a guilty pleasure of mine. These mothers are insane. The oldest kid that show had was 9, and was a beauty queen since she was a baby. One of these mothers even mentioned Sarah Palin when it came to beauty queens being successful in other endeavors.

[Starry Messenger]

28. It will be nice when that "wholesome image"

includes respect for all families that have protection under law. Including same-sex marriage. Hopefully we will get there as a country sooner than later and her views will not be offered this kind of platform in say, 10-15 years.

[spanone]

24. when a beauty pageant entry speaks, we all should crane our necks and listen

bwahahahahaa

[dem629]

25. What's the controversy?

That a beauty contestant has an opinion? :shrug:

BTW, she's hot.

[LisaL]

30. A beauty contestant is hot?

Imagine that.
:rofl:

[blogslut]

26. I say, good for Perez!

Maybe now, the bad publicity of this plus last month's Guanatamo Bay-loving Miss Universe fiasco, will force Donald Trump to put his little doll shows back in the shelf.

[galaxy21]

32. I thought Perez came off as an ass here, to be honest

He asked her a question, and clearly wanted her to give the answer he wanted, and when she didn't he called her "a dumb bitch" (a word I hate, by the way.) If you ask someone for their honest opinion, you can't throw a tantrum when they don't give the response you want.

His question wasn't pre-approved either, and there was a reason for that: it put whoever the question is aimed at in an impossible situation. Anyway you answer that question, you're going to piss off people. She was sabotaged the moment he asked her that, even if she said she supported it.

I disagree with her position on gay marriage, obviously, but she should have never been asked the question in the first place.

[blogslut]

34. Aren't these women supposed to be experts @ diplomatic answers?

She answered a difficult question badly. I don't feel at all sorry for her.

[galaxy21]

35. Yeah, but there aren't that many ways to answer THAT question diplomatically

If she had dodged the question, saying something like 'it doesn't matter how I feel it's a states issue' she'd have been accused of ducking the question and being too political.

If she'd had said Yes, she thought gay marriage should be legal everywhere, she'd have pissed off one or more of the judges, ensuring she couldn't win, and been booed by conservatives in the audience.

And, when she said she didn't support same sex marriage, she pissed off Perez, and likely some of the other judges, again ensuring she couldn't win, and got booed by progressives in the audience.

The question was going to screw her over regardless of what she answered, so Perez shouldn't have sabotaged her chances by asking it.

[blogslut]

36. I disagree

If she had answered the first way you describe, she would have been seen as diplomatic. If she had answered in the fashion of the latter, she would have been lauded as brave.

She blew it. No grace under pressure crown for Miss Thang.

[galaxy21]

37. I probably would have been annoyed if she'd have given a diplomatic answer

All this 'it's a states rights issue' you hear it from politicians all the time and it's so frustating. And she was, if I recall, specifically asked for her opinion, so she wouldn't have been answering the question.


As for the 'lauded as brave', well it's a two way street. People can say she would have been brave to say she supported gay marriage, but you can say she was brave for not giving the response Perez clearly wanted to hear. I suppose it depends what the status quo is and whether or not she was challenging it.

Either way, I think she lost because she got a question that was crappy, and Perez didnt get permission to ask. I personally think it was designed, by him, to steal the show so to speak. Which it did. And now his blog has probably gotten a million more views.

[Starry Messenger]

39. Which judges would have been pissed off if she'd answered "Yes?"

[galaxy21]

40. I assume they had a diverse make up of judges

Conservative and progressive alike, I think. At least these things usually do.

[Starry Messenger]

43. I thought perhaps you knew this for a fact.

I myself would assume otherwise.

[galaxy21]

44. Six or seven judges, just going by statistics, at least two or three of them are

going to be against it. I wouldn't assume just because they work in the entertainment industry, they all support gay marriage.

It just goes back to my point, that she was screwed over, regardless of what her response was. Just like if she'd been asked about abortion or stem cell research.

[Starry Messenger]

46. I prefer integrity over beauty anyway.

Good to know she won't be a role model for our youth now. I'm glad she didn't win top spot. If she'd made generalizations about any other minority's rights she'd be excoriated here.

edit: expanded

[galaxy21]

49. I will say: at least, she didn't lie and say she agreed with it. That may have been worse.

I don't agree with her (inarticulate and outdated) opinion, but at least she was honest.

I'm probably defending her more than I should, because she got a crappy question, and I really dislike Perez's attempts to bully her. Calling her "a dumb bitch" was way, way out line.

[LisaL]

38. Exactly. No matter what she said some group of people

was going to end up being upset. She shouldn't have been asked it.

[bdamomma]

31. I caught her statement.

just believes marriage is between a man and woman.

[bigwillq]

33. It's her opinion.

She is free to it.

Doesn't mean it's right.

[defendandprotect]

41. Who in the hell watches anything like this . .. or would even know what she said . . .????

Presumably, she was talking to people like herself ---
know-nothings . . .

[Terran]

42. " 'We live in a land where you can choose...

same-sex marriage or opposite marriage...' "

Um, we do? She must live in a different land than I do.

[Orsino]

47. Dodged the question rather clumsily, I'd say.

According to the story, she was asked whether or not same-sex marriage ought to be legalized.

[alfredo]

48. My wife and I used to get stoned to watch beauty pageants. We'd play

"Spot the Boob Job." I think we found one. It wasn't obvious until she opened her mouth.

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluebear]

52. May you have a miserable life.

[Natalya Slosky]

53. I think the better question is...

What are YOU doing HERE? Enjoy your stay.

[Natalya Slosky]

51. "that's how I was raised"??? WTF?

That's how I was raised too. However as a lesbian(partially still in the closet) that obviously isn't how I feel now. Sounds like Miss Prejean has a lot of growing up to do.

[iris27]

54. No real shocker. I've been the 'cheering section' for a friend who does these pageants sometimes.

The answers to the discussion questions always come from a sort of conservative-soccer-mom mindset and not well thought out.

If the beauty queens of America had their way:
1) rap and metal music would be banned for inciting violence and school shootings,
2) all fast food would be taxed or banned because OMG TEH OBEESITY CRISIS!!!!1, and
3) "our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children"