Allegations that the Miss USA beauty pageant was rigged have caused the suspension of the pageant owner and calls for the 2022 winner, R’Bonney Gabriel from Texas, to be dethroned, a new report claimed.
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R’Booney Gabriel Picked As Miss USA 2022 Winner Months Before The Competition?
Globe Magazine, in its latest edition, reported that Miss Montana, Heather Lee O’Keefe, charged the pageant organizers and judges handpicked Miss Texas, R’Bonney Gabriel, to be the winner months before she was ultimately crowned. Miss O’Keefe reportedly said:
“I just wish that we all went in with the same level playing field, but we didn’t because Texas was provided an obvious advantage over the rest of us. I’m just really hurt, and I know a lot of the girls in the Miss USA 2022 are, too!”
The Miss Universe Organization, in the wake of the shocking claims, suspended Miss Brand, the shell company through which Miss USA president Crystle Stewart owns the pageant, as per Globe Magazine. The organization previously announced:
“We are appreciative of the cooperation from Miss USA Director Crystle Stewart as we work through the process. Our commitment to contestants and fans is our priority, and we will keep them top of mind as we move forward.”
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Globe Magazine furthered that sour grapes were evident when the losing candidates stalked off the stage en masse immediately after R’Bonney Gabriel was crowned. Miss New Jersey, Alexandra Lakhman, reportedly charged the winner was “pre-determined” and she and “all my other sisters weren’t even given” a chance.
Miss New York, Heather Nunez, added:
“I entered this pageant and gave it every last bit of my heart and soul. We were humiliated, thinking we entered something with a fair chance.”
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Meanwhile, an unnamed representative for the Miss USA pageant told Globe Magazine that, while an investigation into the accusations is ongoing, the charges are meritless. Michael Hannah, director of operations and licensing at Miss USA, stated:
“We clearly told the judges even if you hear that we as the pageant organizers are looking at someone in particular to disregard that.”
Miss Montana, Heather Lee O’Keefe, according to Globe Magazine, could only speculate about a possible motive for rigging the pageant and suggested organizers may have favored Miss Texas so they could have their first Filipina-American winner.
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Heather also claimed that the pageant did not want until the final crowning to start showering prizes on R’Bonney, sending her on an all-expenses-paid trip to a Cancun, Mexico, resort in mid-July! She claimed that 24 hours after R’Bonney won, the resort began featuring promos of her there.
Of Miss USA 2022 winner R’Bonney Gabriel, the beauty queen said:
“She should be de-crowned because she broke the rules. The competition’s national contract – which we all signed --- stipulates we should not work with any of the pageant sponsors prior to the conclusion of the contest. Miss Texas clearly did that in going to Cancun.”
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Crystle Stewart, R’Booney Gabriel Denied Accusations That Miss USA 2022 Pageant Was Rigged
Pageant owner Crystle Stewart, for her part, hit back at the claims and said:
“I would not do anything, such as ‘rig a competition’ that I fought so hard for to win. The current allegations are based on perception and not the truth.”
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, R’Bonney Gabriel stated that she “would never enter a competition that I know is rigged because I think that would be a disservice to myself. That would also be a disservice to the contestants, my family, [and] to my team.”
As of this writing, there is no confirmation that R’Bonney Gabriel would be dethroned and stripped of her title. So, avid followers of the Filipino-American beauty queen should take all these rigging allegations with a grain of salt until everything is proven true and correct.
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