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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Pageant: Prejean’s tiara taken for poor attendance, bad attitude
Pageant queen Carrie Prejean was dethroned Wednesday, June 10, because she behaved like a mean queen, Miss California pageant executive Keith Lewis told CBS’ The Early Show.
“It was a combative relationship. It was just very difficult for us. We tried to meet halfway, and it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen,” Lewis said. “And finally, there was a point where the organization really had to stand up and say, you know what, it’s time for us to move on and get back to the business of beauty.”
The Miss California title now belongs to Tami Farrell, A former Teen Miss USA.
A pink and plastic firestorm ignited at this year’s Miss USA Pageant when Prejean, answering a question from celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, opposed same-sex marriage.
Prejean finished the pageant runner-up to Miss USA and soon after became a poster child for the National Organization for Marriage, a group that opposes same-sex unions.
There was backlash from those on both side of the gay marriage debate.
Semi-nude photos of Prejean surfaced as her relationship with pageant officials worsened.
The move to fire the controversial beauty reversed pageant owner Donald Trump’s May 12 decision to keep Prejean on.
Since Trump’s announcement, the pageant organization says Prejean consistently broke her contract.
She was missing “tens and tens” of public appearances, Lewis told Early Show host Julie Chen.
“She was unavailable. She didn’t want to make them. She didn’t want to make any appearances in Hollywood. She was just really difficult to work with,” Lewis said.
Prejean had several excuses, he said.
“From I’ve got other commitments to I’m not just Miss Hollywood. I need to be other things and making other things in the state,” Lewis said.
He said he speaks to Prejean through her attorney, the general counsel for the National Organization for Marriage.
Chen asked Lewis if her thought Prejean would fight the decision and attempt to get her title back.
“I don’t think she ever really wanted to have the title afterwards because that wasn’t consistent with her behavior,” he said. “I think if you tell your boss, I’m not going to do the job, I’m going to do whatever I want, you can’t tell me what I’m going to do, I think that you expect that your boss is going to say to you, you know what, you’re probably not supposed to be in this job anymore.”
Billy Bush of Access Hollywood apparently delivered the news to Prejean that she was fired.
She told Bush that she began receiving text messages about her firing shortly after learning of his call.
“And I started to laugh because everyone’s been cooperating and everyone’s been getting along so well,” she said. “This is the first that I’ve heard of it. This is funny to me. I have no idea what’s going on.”
