Miss USA: Did Hilton Question Cost Prejean the Crown?

Conservative pundits and new sources are hemorrhaging ink over a singularly crucial question: did Miss USA first runner-up Carrie Prejean lose her shot at the crown for voicing an opinion against marriage equality?

The contestant herself voiced the opinion that her answer led to her defeat, but added that she saw it as a personal victory since she lost the crown for a principled position and refused to profess a belief she did not believe in simply to pander to the judges.

Prejean was asked about marriage equality by openly gay judge and gossip blogger Perez Hilton during the April 19 contest, which was broadcast nationally as it unfolded in Las Vegas at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Hilton inquired as to whether Prejean thought that the question of marriage equality should be something that each state in the U.S. decides for itself; Prejean responded with a blanket statement that marriage should be reserved as a right exclusive to heterosexual couples.

Said the Miss USA contestant, "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage," going on to say, "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 offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised," Prejean added.

Prejean subsequently lost the contest to Kristen Dalton, the contestant representing North Carolina; Prejean attributed the loss in an interview with right-wing media outlet Fox News to her response to Hilton's question.

Co-hosts Nadine Velasquez ("My Name Is Earl") and Billy Bush ("Access Hollywood") oversaw the contest, which was judged by Kenan Thompson ("Saturday Night Live") and Kelly Monaco ("Dancing With the Stars"), as well as Hilton.

But it was Hilton who drew the attention of the right-wing press, both for having asked the politically charged question as well as for an insulting video blog in which he referred to Prejean using unflattering language.

Pundits and press from the right seized upon the exchange, the outcome, and an appearance by Hilton the following day on Larry King Live, as well as the video blog.

An April 21 article at conservative site News Busters went after Hilton for his coarse name calling, asking, "Want to appear as a champion of a cause without being held to account for the hateful name-calling you did in the name of your cause?"

The article answered its own query with, "Appear on CNN's 'Larry King Live.'"

The article reported that Hilton, during his Larry King Live appearance, told the host of the talk show, "Well, I was given the opportunity, on this national platform to ask a question that I thought was relevant.

"And given the recent setbacks and advances that we've made in the fight for gay marriage, I thought it was a very important question for me specifically to ask."

The article also noted that Hilton said he had cleared the question beforehand with the beauty contest's producers.

"I ran it by the producers beforehand and they signed off on it and everybody thought it was a good question.

"It wasn't meant to be a big bomb," Hilton added.

"And I don't think it was that hard of a question, either."

However, Hilton also indicated that in his view Prejean, as a contestant, ought to have leavened her response with an eye to the crown, saying, "Honesty is great. However, in an interview this morning, she said that the audience and the judges expected her to be politically correct."

Added Hilton, "Yes. I do expect Miss USA to be politically correct."

Added the gossip blogger, "Do we want a Miss USA that's politically insensitive, that's politically offensive? No.

"So I didn't disagree with her not believing in the right for gays and lesbians to good evening equal under the law. I disagree with how she answered the question because Miss USA should be all-inclusive."

Added Hilton, "She should be my Miss USA and when she answered that question that way, it was instantly divisive and alienating to gays and lesbians and friends and supporters."

But the article went on to hoist Hilton on his own petard, noting that far from demonstrating an open mind with regard to Prejean's answer, Hilton posted a video blog in which he attacked Prejean in a personal and derogatory manner.

Saying that her answer garnered boos from the audience, Hilton claimed, "That was the first time in Miss USA ever that a contestant has been booed."

Added the gossip blogger, "Now, let me explain to you she lost not because she doesn't believe in gay marriage, Miss California lost because she is a dumb bitch."

Hilton's Larry King appearance struck a more conciliatory tone, with Hilton talking about wishing to meet with Prejean in a convivial setting to educate her.

Said Hilton, "I would like to invite Miss California out to coffee."

Added the gossip maven, "That was a sincere invitation and I would like to talk to her because I think that when people don't know gays and lesbians as human beings, it's easier to feel that they shouldn't have equal rights."

Prejean chalked up her loss to the question in an interview with Fox News, but insisted that, for her, the answer she gave was the only one she could honestly offer. Pundits hailed Prejean's firm adherence to her beliefs.

At Mark Finkelberg's conservative Finkelblog an April 21 article noted, "Making his case against Carrie Prejean, Perez proffered a pastiche of personal insult and intellectual incoherence. In contrast, Miss California took the high road, putting personal integrity ahead of temporal achievement."

The article reported that both Hilton and Prejean were interviewed by Matt Lauer.

When Lauer noted that Prejean had come tantalizingly close to the Miss USA crown, Prejean acknowledged that, adding, "And I'm so proud of myself. And I have so many people who are so proud of me. And [a win] wasn't what God wanted for me that night."

Added the runner-up, "I wouldn't change a thing. I wouldn't be here right now with you if I were to be Miss USA, so I know that I had a purpose and I don't take back what I said. I was true to myself, and I know now that I can go out and speak to young people about standing up for what you believe in and never compromising anything for anyone or anything, even if it's the crown of Miss USA."

Other right-wing news outlets confined themselves to excoriating Hilton and attempting to turn the incident into an illustration of the larger marriage equality debate in America.

An April 20 Associated Content editorial by Carly Hart referenced an earlier Hilton blog article written mere weeks after voters in Californian narrowly approved Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that amended the California constitution in a way that rescinded the marriage rights of gay and lesbian families in that state.

The article reported that, in that blog, posted last Nov. 19, Hilton wrote about the state's Supreme Court agreeing to hear a challenge to the amendment, "They've done the right thing today. They've done the right thing in the past. And they will (hopefully) continue to do what's right with regard to our rights!"

Wrote the editorial's author, "I can appreciate that as a gay man, he can certainly disagree with Prop 8. He can even be mad that it passed and work toward having the law changed in his state. That is how democracy works.

"Looking back to his November post, however, and dovetailing his sentiments with his diatribe about Miss California, Carrie Prejean, it is evident that Perez was fishing for an answer that he personally believed in, and not one that Carrie Prejean personally believed in," the editorial continued.

The op-ed piece went on to suggest that Hilton employs a double standard about when an answer to the effect that states should regulate marriage would be the "right" response. Noted the article, "As reported at nydailynews.com before the November ballot initiative for Prop 8, Perez Hilton decried the measure as nothing more than a way to 'write discrimination into the state constitution' while he lashed out at an actor publicly supporting the Prop 8 measure."

Right-wing site Conservative Brawler took aim at Hilton with still less flattering commentary in am April 20 article, addressing the gossip blogger directly in the course of its text.

"I think you're just bitter, Perez, because your attempt to strong arm the acceptance of gay marriage into yet another avenue of pop culture backfired," the article read.

"But I'm not terribly concerned that the question was asked, or even that the judges might have felt she didn't frame her answer as well as she could have," the article went on, adding, "What I'm concerned with is the systemic defamation which followed and will continue to follow her answer."

The article went on, "You could see it on her face the instant she realized Perez would be asking her a question; she knew she was going to get a loaded question about homosexuality.

"She knew, no matter how well she framed her answer, she was going to be portrayed as an ignorant bigot."

Attempting to portray the incident as symptomatic of a larger cultural trend, the article went on, "I'm sorry to say this, but her situation is not unique. What happened to Miss California is just part and parcel of what conservatives face every day.

"We're not permitted to voice our responses, and when we are brave enough to speak out against liberalism, we're eviscerated."

Added the article, "What she faced on stage last night is what conservatives in nearly every college classroom across the country face every day."

The article went on to posit dire predictions for Prejean in a future it envisioned plagued by "liberals": "No doubt, Miss California will have one of two futures in the coming days. Either she will succumb to pressure and dilute her answer to get the dogs away off her throat, or she'll stand her ground and have the MSM demonize her until her reputation and life are ruined."

An Associated Press article carried at EDGE dedicated a few sentences to reporting on the win by Miss North Carolina, who talked about her own perspective on the outcome, saying, "It feels really natural."

Added Ms. Dalton, "I've worked so be here and this has been my lifelong dream and it's finally here.

"And whoever knew you could win in a turquoise gown?" quipped the new Miss USA.

Ms. Dalton's prize package includes a residence in New York city for a year, as well as a salary and a scholarship to the New York Film Academy, the article reported, noting that Dalton will represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe pageant this coming summer.

The article also recalled that earlier in April, comments from the current Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, excited controversy. After visiting Guantanamo Bay, the site of infamous episodes of sexual humiliation and torture of detainees by American troops, Ms, Mendoza wrote that her excursion to the now-closed facility was "aloooot of fun."

The comment was stricken from the Miss USA Web site, the article said, after drawing withering criticism.

But the focus of the contest remained Hilton's question, Prejean's answer, and the controversy the exchange instantly generated.

The article quoted audience member Scott Ihrig, who was quoted as saying, "It's ugly."

Added Ihrig, who is gay himself and who was in the audience with his life partner, "I think it's ridiculous that she got first runner-up."

Said Ihrig of Prejean's response to the question about marriage equality, "That is not the value of 95 percent of the people in this audience.

"Look around this audience and tell me how many gay men there are."

One contestant's mother--Charmaine Koonce, whose daughter, Bianca Matamoros-Koonce, represented New Mexico--offered a less nuanced, but equally heated, opinion.

"In the Bible it says marriage is between Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve!" the article quoted Koonce as stating.

Though she expressed pride in having stood by her principles, Prejean allowed as how being put on the spot by Hilton was tough for her. As reported at EDGE on April 21, Prejean, asked on Fox News, "Did your stomach sink when you first heard you picked Perez Hilton's question?" answered in the affirmative.

Said Prejean, "I had a gut feeling.... Out of all the topics I studied up on, I dreaded that one, I prayed I would not be asked about gay marriage.

"If I had any other question, I know I would have won," added Prejean, going on to admit that being called a "stupid bitch" by Hilton in his video blog was distressing, but hastening to add, "I have no regrets about answering honestly.

"He asked me for my opinion and I gave it to him."

Added Prejean, "I have nothing against gay people, and I didn't mean to offend anyone in my answer."

When asked about Hilton's comment that he'd like to invite her for a cup of coffee and a chat, Prejean answered, "No comment!"

In addition to interviewing Prejean, Fox News posted an April 20 story in which it reported that a co-producer of the contest that Prejean won to become Miss California, Keith Lewis, stated that he was "personally... hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman."

Prejean, however, has continued to stick to her guns. Co-host Billy Bush also interviewed Prejean on his own radio program, Fox News reported, and was told, "I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Added Prejean, "I stated an opinion that was true to myself, and that's all I can do," she told Billy Bush, who hosted Miss USA, on his radio talk show on Monday.

Added Ms. Prejean, "It did cost me my crown."

Prejean allowed as how she could see Hilton's point of view, saying, "It is a very touchy subject and he is a homosexual, and I see where he was coming from and I see the audience would've wanted me to be more politically correct.

"But I was raised in a way that you can never compromise your beliefs and your opinions for anything."

Indeed, another family member--Prejean's sister--supported the contestant's answer, even though personally she disagrees.

"She was just in my hotel room and she said, 'Sis, I'm not offended by anything that you said.

"'We have two different opinions and I love you because of it. I love you because you stood up for what was right, and it's not a matter of being gay or not gay, it's a matter of you competing for Miss USA and getting a question and answering it to the best of your ability,'" Prejean quoted her sister, an Air Force officer, as saying.