Jun 15, 2012 No Comments ›› Pat Dollard
ABC News: Miss USA 2012 Oliva Culpo may be carrying a cool demeanor beneath her pageant crown but the allegations over whether she won the title fair and square are as heated as ever.
Less than two weeks after one of the 50 women who lost to Culpo, Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin, resigned her title and charged that the pageant was a “fraud,” a second contestant has come forward to back Monnin’s claims that the pageant’s finalists were selected in advance.
The contestant, who is remaining anonymous, told FOXNews.com that she too heard Miss Florida Karina Brez reveal the list of finalists backstage before the top 15 finalists were announced on stage, the same allegation made by Monnin in a Facebook post the day after the June 3 pageant.
“I saw Florida backstage and she was very, very flustered and upset…at that point she was able to reveal to me at least four of the five names who went on to be the top girls,” the contestant told the website in an exclusive interview.
“She couldn’t remember the fifth because she was so upset. Several of the girls then started hearing through the grapevine about a list; a lot of people were upset.”
The Donald Trump-owned Miss Universe Organization that runs the Miss USA pageant has filed legal action against Monnin for defamation and says the new claims made by the anonymous contestant are just as false.
“We’re relying on the facts and the facts are on our side,” Paula Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe Organization, told ABCNews.com today. “I don’t put a lot of credibility in anonymous sources.”
“The first thing I say when the contestants show up is 50 of you are going to be unhappy so make sure you have a great experience,” Shugart said.
