The Cringiest Beauty Pageant Moments Ever

Pageants have been strongly opposed, as some believe competitors are wrongfully judged on looks alone. Has pageantry evolved? Perhaps the Miss USA and Miss Universe events seek more than the most beautiful woman in the room. The Miss USA website asks, "Had a love-affair with flashing lights for as long as you've known yourself? Or maybe you're energized by philanthropy and advocacy?"  It seems that confidence, charitable work, and awareness of global issues are important attributes for contestants who win the crown.

The question-and-answer portion of a pageant is a great way to see the thoughtful side of some contestants. Women have given thought-provoking answers, shared their dreams and aspirations, and spoken against inequality. Take Miss Universe 2019, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa, who was asked: "What is the most important thing we should teach young girls today?" Her answer was simple yet powerful: "I think the most important thing we should be teaching young girls today is leadership. It's something that has been lacking in young girls and women for a very long time, not because we don't want to, but because of what society had labeled women to be."

Of course, not every pageant contestant has a brilliant answer like Tunzi had. Fans have watched several women stumble during their Q&As, becoming viral sensations for their scatterbrained answers. It's hard to watch, but there have been even more scandalous and cringey moments in pageant history, including a drug scandal and a seemingly harmless selfie that made headlines. 

A Mexican beauty queen was at the center of a drug trafficking scandal that resulted in her pageant crown being taken away. In 2008, Laura Zúñiga, who hails from Sinaloa, Mexico, was crowned winner of Miss Hispanic America but was soon a smuggling gang suspect after her supposed boyfriend was believed to be associated with the Juarez Cartel, per Reuters. 

It was reported that Zúñiga and several men were detained after police located "assault rifles and $55,000 in cash" inside their luxury cars. Reuters shared a mugshot of the dark-haired beauty, who was charged with "racketeering, drug trafficking, guns, and money laundering," per Time. Zúñiga was also taken to jail for 40 days while an investigation took place. Before winning Miss Hispanic America, Zúñiga was crowned winner in the pageant Nuestra Belleza Mexico (now called Mexicana Universal). The beauty pageant later stated that it was cutting ties with Zúñiga. "This organization separates itself from any activities, situations or personal relations that Laura Zúñiga had outside her participation in Miss Sinaloa," pageant director Lupita Jones said in a statement (via Time). 

According to Refinery 29, Zúñiga's wins also meant that she would be competing in Miss International and Miss Universe, but all that quickly came crashing down. Zúñiga was released, and in 2011, a movie titled "Miss Bala" was loosely based on the former beauty queen's scandal.

While competing for the coveted crown of Miss USA, 51 women from across the nation (including the District of Columbia), should know a thing or two about the state they represent. However, in 2014, Miss Nevada turned heads when she did not know the capital of her home state. 

Nia Sanchez represented Nevada in the 2014 Miss USA pageant, and the pageant queen made some appearances during her reign, of course. Sanchez was on "The Todd Show" when she was asked to name the capital of Nevada. She could not answer without the host helping her out. He informed her that Carson City was the correct answer, and she awkwardly replied, "Thank you. I was gonna say that, I was like, that one DJ host on MTV, back in the day, his name, that's how I always remembered it. ... Carson Daly, that guy." 

A source told FOX News that Sanchez had unsuccessfully competed to become Miss California and "never actually moved to Nevada ... setting up some minimum paper trail" so that it looked like she was from the Sagebrush State. The Miss USA winner clarified to FOX 411 that she had indeed been a resident of the state for "almost a year and a half," which met the residency requirements for entering the Miss Nevada pageant, stating, "I did it right. I waited over a year to compete when I felt like I was ready." She also expressed her "love" for living in Nevada.  

After Tara Conner became Miss USA in 2006, she was quickly thrust into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The newest beauty queen was reported to have had an addiction to drugs and alcohol, and eight months into her reign, tested positive for cocaine. However, instead of taking away her crown, then co-owner of the Miss USA organization, former president Donald Trump, gave Conner the chance to seek help. 

Conner's admissions were featured on an A&E special titled "Fame and Recovery" (via Oprah) where she shared that she had started drinking alcohol and abusing drugs when she was just 14 years old. "It consumed every minute of my day. There would be times where I could do 30 pills in a day," she said. She later stated that she abused drugs while participating in pageants and was on "pain pills the entire time" while competing for Miss USA. After she tested positive for cocaine, Trump held a press conference stating that Conner was "given a second chance" and added that her experiences could help others with addiction.

Conner went to rehab, and 10 years later, thanked Trump in an article for USA Today. "I will always be profoundly grateful. He saved my life... I have become a vocal advocate for recovery, and today I speak out for the millions who do not have a voice." 

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In 2007, Miss Teen USA contestant Caitlin Upton became a viral sensation when she struggled to answer a geography question during the pageant. While many saw this as an embarrassing meltdown, Upton shared that the cyberbullying got so bad, she had thoughts of suicide. 

Let's rewind to that day when Upton was center stage in front of thousands and was asked why Americans couldn't find the U.S. on a map. Her answer was a tangled mess. "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps," she stated, while also mentioning South Africa and "the Iraq." Upton instantly became a target for bullying and later told Intelligencer, "One group of girls took me to this party at the University of South Carolina, and I walk in, and the entire USC baseball team surrounded me and bashed me with the harshest, meanest comments I had ever heard." Upton confessed that she contemplated taking her own life, sharing, "I definitely went through a period where I was very, very depressed."

Mario Lopez, who hosted the Miss Teen USA pageant that year, defended Upton after her mishap. He told People, "It was a very intense moment. It's live TV. You don't know what the question is until you get up there. And I believe that she misunderstood it." Since then, Upton was on "The Amazing Race" and has made several other television appearances.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Tensions between Lebanon and Israel found their way to the 2015 Miss Universe pageant when a selfie taken by Miss Israel, featuring Miss Lebanon, caused an uproar with the Lebanese government. According to the New York Post, Miss Lebanon Saly Greige was threatened with disqualification by her home country when Doron Matalon of Israel shared a selfie that showed the two women smiling side-by-side, along with Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan. 

The Los Angeles Times noted that with conflict and discord between the two nations, Greige admitted that she had tried to distance herself from Miss Israel, but Matalon was intent on wanting a photo together. "Since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss Universe, I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel," Greige shared on Facebook at the time. The New York Post also shared that Miss Lebanon's agent believed Matalon was trying to sabotage Greige by taking the photo.

Matalon later shared a news article about the photo to her Instagram, where she wrote, "Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game, only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country." According to The Times of Israel, Greige did not lose her crown, but the incident was investigated.

Before Vanessa Williams became a stand-out actor in shows like "Ugly Betty" or belted out hits like "Save the Best for Last," she wanted to become Miss America. The star competed in the 1983 pageant and won the crown, becoming the first Black woman to do so. However, when her year as Miss America was almost up, then 21-year-old Williams was forced to forfeit her title and the coveted crown because Penthouse magazine had decided to publish nude photos of her (per The New York Times). 

According to CNN, 32 years after the scandal, the Miss America organization apologized to Williams during the 2016 Miss America pageant, where the actor was a judge. CEO Sam Haskell and Williams were up on stage when he said, "Though none of us currently in the organization were involved then, on behalf of today's organization, I want to apologize to you and to your mother, Miss Helen Williams. I want to apologize for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less than the Miss America you are and the Miss America you always will be."

The Miss America scandal did not affect Williams' career one bit. She told Page Six in 2021 that although it might have shined a negative light on the beauty queen back then, it didn't stop her from pursuing her dreams. "I think I was really centered in knowing I know who I am and I'll get there, and once the dust settles, you'll see." 

Venezuelan native Alicia Machado took home the title of Miss Universe in 1996, but the organization's then-owner Donald Trump had reportedly made life a living hell for the beauty queen. In an interview with "Inside Edition" in 2016, Machado spoke out about the verbal abuse she suffered at the hands of Trump, which consisted of him calling her "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping" when she gained weight after her win. 

Following the pageant, Machado faced a ton of scrutiny because of her weight gain, and her crown was even at stake because of it. "Inside Edition" reported that Trump took Machado to a private gym that was packed with media and called her an "eating machine" during an interview with Howard Stern. Machado shared that after Trump began calling her names, she "was very depressed." In an interview with The New York Times, the pageant winner said, "After the episode, I was sick, anorexia and bulimia for five years. Over the past 20 years, I've gone to a lot of psychologists to combat this." 

Despite the negative attention Machado was getting, she went on to star in several telenovelas and became "the first Miss Universe to pose for Playboy" (via Inside Edition). She shared with Women's Health that posing for the magazine was "part of my healing process," adding that she also signed and mailed a copy to Trump "to show him that he had not broken me."

At the 2016 Miss Teen USA pageant, Texas native Karlie Hay took home the crown, but in a matter of hours, ABC News reported that several disturbing tweets resurfaced from Hay's past which showed the winner using the N-word, curse words, and threatening language.

Surprisingly, Hay did not have to give up her crown, but she did apologize during an interview with "Good Morning America," stating, "I am very sorry. It's embarrassing. It's something I'm ashamed of, and I've grown up from that 15-year-old girl who used that type of language." She also said, "At that age, I was being a follower. I was trying to fit in with my friends. The word was thrown around in the music I listened to, with the friends I hung out with, and I had no guidance, so it was kind of a careless mistake."  

Miss Teen USA's parent company, the Miss Universe Organization, defended Hay, stating that "she sincerely apologizes" and "learned many lessons through those personal struggles." However, one former Miss Teen USA titleholder wasn't having it. 2010 winner Kamie Crawford told "Good Morning America" that Hay did not deserve her crown: "If the decision was in my hands, absolutely, she would have to be dethroned, not necessarily because of what she said, but the avenue in which she decided to say it," Crawford said.

During the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, host Steve Harvey made the crucial mistake of calling out the wrong winner. He looked back on the moment and called it "painful." On stage, following the announcement of the next Miss Universe, Harvey admitted to reading his card wrong. He named the runner-up, Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, as the winner when the crown was supposed to go to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines. After being notified of his error, Harvey appeared next to Miss Colombia to announce the correct winner, which was when the crown was taken off her head and placed on a shocked Wurtzbach.

Harvey later tweeted, "I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible." He also tweeted, "Secondly, I'd like to apologize to the viewers at that I disappointed as well. Again it was an honest mistake." 

Looking back on that moment, Harvey spoke on the "Comedy Gold Minds with Kevin Hart" podcast in 2021 and shared, "...painful a** night there, dawg. Oh God. I didn't know the pain I was in. I didn't know how bad the mistake was," later adding that "it was the worst week of my life." However, Harvey was given the hosting gig the very next year and continued to host the show until 2019, returning in 2021 and accidentally referring to Miss Paraguay as Miss Portugal.

During the 2013 Miss USA pageant, contestant Marissa Powell, who represented the state of Utah, stumbled on a question about pay equality in the United States that made the audience and viewers cringe. Thankfully, Powell got the chance to answer the question she called "confusing" a second time on "The Today Show."

Powell was asked the question: "A recent report shows that in 40 percent of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?" Powell's answer, unfortunately, made very little to no sense and also involved awkward pauses when she replied, "I think we can relate this back to education and how we are continuing to try to strive to [long pause] figure out how to create jobs right now," ending her statement with something about the need "to create education better." Powell placed third runner-up, even after that awkward response.

The contestant appeared on "The Today Show" along with the winner of Miss USA 2013, Erin Brady, when host Matt Lauer read the same question to Miss Utah. This time, Powell managed to give a meaningful response when she answered, "So, this is not okay. It needs to be equal pay for equal work and it's hard enough already to earn a living, and it shouldn't be harder just because you're a woman." 

Alice Sabatini was crowned Miss Italy in 2015, but she raised a few eyebrows when she was asked by judges which era she would most like to live in and gave the unusual response of "1942." Her answer didn't sit well with people or the Italian tabloids. 

According to The Italian Insider, Sabatini's reasoning for the year 1942 (a time when Italy was under Mussolini's rule) was: "to see life during the Second World War for myself. And I know that women didn't form part of the military, so I would just stay at home." An Italian newspaper called ll Fatto Quotidano mocked Sabatini and blamed the education system for her baffling answer, stating, "Why did Alice come up with the idea of a woman who stays at home? Why did she not think about the gunfire and the 623 women, who were killed during the Resistance?" 

The Daily Mail reported that Sabatini explained her answer further, adding that she wanted to experience life in her great-grandmother's shoes. "I would have liked to live through what she had gone through in those years. For better and for worse," she said. However, a judge named Vladimir Luxuria shared that Sabatini "panicked" when asked the question. 

During the 2009 Miss USA pageant, Carrie Prejean of California was asked about the legalization of same-sex marriage, which was outlawed in several states at the time. It wasn't until 2015 that the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it in all 50 states. According to the BBC, Prejean shocked openly gay judge Perez Hilton, who read Prejean her question before she stated, "I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman." While it stunned many people, Prejean defended her answer, but she would eventually lose her Miss California crown for other reasons. 

Prejean stated that her answer "cost me my crown," telling Billy Bush on his radio show (via FOX News), "I wouldn't have had it any other way. I stated an opinion that was true to myself, and that's all I can do." Despite the controversy, Prejean was first runner-up in the competition.

According to Reuters, former owner of the Miss USA pageant Donald Trump stood by Prejean for her shocking Q&A response. However, he didn't stand by her when she was not fulfilling her duties as Miss California. He stated, "I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so." The pageant's executive director Keith Lewis stated, "This was a decision based solely on contract violations including Ms. Prejean's unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization." Prejean told Sean Hannity (via ABC News) that she believed she was "being dethroned because of" "[her] answer on stage that night."

Beauty can only get you so far, but it certainly didn't help Louisiana native Lindsey Evans, a former Miss Teen USA who didn't think things through when she dined and dashed from a restaurant with friends. 

According to the New York Post, in 2008, Evans and a group of friends decided to skip out on their $46 bill at a cafe in Louisiana, but the blonde beauty forgot one thing — her purse. After looking through her bag, police located her driver's license and marijuana and were able to arrest Evans. Today reported that her actions and her drug possession cost her the crown, with Paula Miles, president of RPM (an affiliate with the Miss Universe Organization) stating, "Lindsey Evans has been part of an organization that believes in opportunities when earned and consequences when warranted. Due to recent circumstances, Lindsey has been relieved of her duties as Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2008 effective immediately."

According to TMZ, Evans only had 10 more days left as the reigning Miss Louisiana, but her actions were just too scandalous for the organization to allow her to keep her crown. 

Strict rules go along with pageants, and if they aren't followed, these contestants can be stripped of their coveted crowns. That's what happened to Miss USA 2017 contestant Genesis Davila of Florida, who was dethroned for using professional hair and makeup stylists when that was prohibited. 

Contestants must do their own hair and makeup for competitions. The pageant's executive director Grant Gravitt stated to Local 10 News, "Unfortunately, our title holder sought an unfair competitive advantage, and that's just not acceptable in our system." TMZ obtained the incriminating photo of Davila getting her makeup done by a glam team, but Davila insisted that it was an old photo. She was told to give up her crown a mere six days into being Miss Florida, but instead of just walking away, she took action and sued the pageant. 

According to CNN, Davila hired a lawyer and filed a $15 million lawsuit against pageant owners, seeking damages for defamation. Davila spoke out about losing her crown, sharing (via Local 10 News), "All of these false allegations have taken me completely by surprise. I have faced many challenges in my life, but nothing like this." However, Gravitt shared that it was Davila's social media accounts that gave her up. Despite being dethroned, she would become Miss Florida again the very next year.