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Miss Wisconsin Christina Thompson, left, and Miss Utah Jill Stevens do push-ups after Stevens was eliminated from the finalists during the Miss America Pageant at the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) More »
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On last night's episode of Toddlers & Tiaras, we met Kelly, whose 23-month-old daughter Natalie was competing in some random pageant inside of a drab hotel room (seriously, the venues always look like sad sets from an Eastern Block film). Natalie screamed and cried while she was being dressed, screamed and cried while she was having her hair done, and generally seemed rather spoiled. But it was clear that bad behavior ran in the family: Kelly threw a tantrum when her child was crowned "Princess" in her division. "Princess means that you're a loser," Kelly declared. (Does Disney know about this?) This particular pageant had announced that they were awarding Princess titles in addition to Supreme titles — meaning that just because you're crowned Princess doesn't mean you won't be Ultimate Queen Grand Wizard Royal Nacho Supreme Burrito or whatever. However! Kelly wasn't listening when the announcement was made. Hence the drama queen scene. The lesson she is teaching her daughter is that if you don't get what you want, you should curse and scream and throw things, which is almost certainly the best possible way to raise a responsible, generous, caring citizen of Earth. Anyway! In the end, Natalie did indeed win Novice Chalupa Supreme Queen, and Kelly got the giant crown she wanted. More »
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Whether you're completely appalled by the pageant mom who dressed her daughter like a hooker or you're one of the viewers salivating for new episodes (that begins tonight!), you may be intrigued by Good Morning America's package on the show. More »
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Jenelle Hutcherson is the first openly gay contestant in the Miss Southern California and Miss Long Beach pageant, and she looks poised to rock the house. In the video above, she details her plans to wear a tux to the formalwear competition. She also explains that she's entering the pageant as a statement in favor of diversity and against hate, saying, "I want to give true meaning to loving your neighbors." The pageant is this weekend, and Hutcherson says, "I believe this very well may be the craziest, most insane, life experience I have put myself through yet!" More »
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In this week's compilation of pop culture crap, Always Sunny puts on the world's worst child pageant, Martha Stewart disrespects her Louboutins, and Cheryl Hines is your stereotypical suburban Mom. More »
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Last night on Toddlers And Tiaras, we met Melissa, a mom who has spent $30,000 on pageants and says of her daughter: "I feel like her and I are the same person. We live he same life and we are best friends and I just feel like that is me on stage." Except when her daughter, Carley, doesn't obey Melissa, Melissa speaks to Carley in a threatening whisper and says things like, "You are going to be a very sorry girl." More »
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Risqué. Sexy. Fits like a glove! Look at that leg! These were the phrases used to describe the Miss Universe Pageant finalists during the evening gown portion of last night's competition. Among them, a dress so sheer it took a lot of pleading in order for it to be approved for competition by pageant officials. More »
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Wendy Dickey, the mom whose 3-year-old daughter wore a hooker getup for a Pretty Woman routine on Toddlers & Tiaras, defended her costume choices to TMZ, saying the child-size sex worker ensemble is "less revealing than gymnastics wear and swimsuits," and "a lot less harmful." Earlier, we pointed out that she could have paid homage to Julia Roberts with another outfit from the film. It turns out the girl did wear a "classy" dress from the end of the film, but TLC edited it out. More »
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This year the Donald Trump-owned Miss Universe pageant has been plagued by wardrobe malfunctions that cross the line between "totally sleazy" and "just raunchy enough to boost ratings." First Miss Colombia, Catalina Robayo, was accused of going commando at several pageant events. A source tells Fox News: More »
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The latest in unjust beauty pageantry rulings comes out of Mexico, where 19-year-old Cynthia de la Vega was stripped of her crown because she put on six — count 'em, six — pounds. Really, Mexico? More »
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Jean Bartel, Miss America 1943, died last week. And she's a woman worth remembering. More »
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Before she was crowned Miss America at Saturday's pageant, 17-year-old Teresa Scanlan of Nebraska was asked about Wikileaks. She plans to be a politician some day, so of course her answer was well-informed and totally comprehensible. More »
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Despite baldness from alopecia, Kayla Martell has won Miss Delaware — and is planning to compete in this year's Miss America pageant. "You can be bald and be beautiful," she declares. More »
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This is Mia. She's two years old. Her pageant routine involves appearing on stage in a white robe with angel wings as the opening notes of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" play. Then she strips to reveal a gold cone-breasted bustier. More »
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At the Miss America pageant on January 15, Miss New York Claire Buffie will declare her support for gay rights. She says her sister and many friends are gay and she doesn't want to see them "treated as second-class citizens." More »
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In France, two generations of beauty queens are clashing in what's being considered a "war of the misses." More »
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Sorry, they don't like it called that — it's the Miss Liberty America pageant and is not affiliated with the "fringe" Tea Party. Even if it is devoted to "restoring Liberty to the United States." And contains a marksmanship category. More »
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While vacationing in Florida, Anysha Panesar of Wales was crowned America's Most Perfect Teen after the pageant director failed to list residency requirements. While some say the Brit should've been ineligible, Anysha says they're only complaining, "because they didn't win." More »
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Australia's Jesinta Campbell claims that one of her Miss Universe competitors "booby-trapped an outfit by sticking pins in delicate places." To add insult to injury, it was her "National Dress" costume! More »
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Miss USA recently spent a week cataloging everything she ate for Grub Street. We thought it might be interesting to look at this — so what did the most beautiful girl in the nation consume? More »
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On July 10, 100 Hooters waitresses will come together to compete in the 14th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant. The winner will have the honor of being featured in Hooter's Magazine (plus there's a $50,000 cash prize). [PRNewsWire] More »
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Says Reuters, "The mothers of some beauty pageant contestants say they were tricked into appearing on a TV talk show and then accused of physically and sexually abusing their children." And would that it had ended there. More »
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Miss America is out to prove that it's a force for positivity in girls' lives...by introducing a line of children's clothes, "Little Miss America." Talk about a "vision of femininity": More »
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"No little girl walks around saying, 'I want to be Miss USA when I grow up.' She says, 'I want to be Miss America,'" said the chairman of the Miss America Organization about the rival Trump-sponsored pageant. [AP] More »
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Hours into her Miss USA tenure, Rima Fakih has her first (low-grade) scandal: a "Stripper 101" crown in college. Meanwhile, creative right-wing haters are implying, in more ways than one, that she won because of a pro-Muslim, pro-immigrant conspiracy. More »
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Unlike Miss America, Donald Trump's Miss USA pageants are pretty honest about what they're looking for: conventionally attractive young women with a talent for walking in heels. However, the newest addition to the Miss USA website has caused some controversy. More »
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Organizer Liz Fuller explains the rule change: "Beauty pageants have been stuck in the past. They were run by men and their rules were to fulfill the typical male fantasy that beautiful young girls had to be virginal." [DailyMail] More »
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•  Organizers of the Miss Bayside pageant in Australia, which will judge children up to age 13 on modeling, talent, and an interview, claim that it won't be "over the top" like American pageants. Oh, really? More »
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Jeanie Alcalar, whom you may have seen drag her daughter by the arm on the February 17 episode of Toddlers And Tiaras, has had her daycare center's license suspended in light of some pretty upsetting allegations. More »
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Held last night in Las Vegas in preparation for the show on Saturday, the Miss America prelims featured glitter, animal prints, and smiles so wide they just had to hurt. More »
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You absolutely cannot write about the Miss Fat Gay Venezuela pageant without publishing accompanying photographs. It's just not fair. Love, Us. [Guardian] More »
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There must be some unwritten rule that beauty queens must film their every assignation: Anya Ayoung-Chee, aka Miss Universe 2008, has become the latest pageant winner to become involved in a sex-tape scandal. Spoiler: It's a threesome. [NYDailyNews] More »
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Former Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton - famous for her embarrassing "such as" ramble - recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, who sent her out into the world to learn from the master (Nadya Suleman, natch) where babies come from. More »
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Last night, Carrie Prejean became hostile when Larry King asked about her Miss California Pageant settlement. He then took a call from a gay pageant fan, which prompted Prejean to remove her mic and mouth, "I'm walking off this." More »
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Twenty contestants came together on Saturday night to strut their stuff for the Miss International Queen pageant, which is one of the only pageants open solely to transsexuals. More »
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When Jezebel EIC Anna proposed interviewing beauty pageant coach Cy Frakes (of TLC's new show King of the Crown), I figured I'd seek answers to my burning pageant-related questions. So I did. And it was fine. Until it wasn't. More »
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A year ago, Miss Virginia crown-holder Tara Wheeler promised to shave her head for charity. Pageant officials consented—if she could raise $500,000. Although Wheeler didn't end up raising the entire sum, she went bald anyway. More »
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The latest U.S. export to land on foreign shores? Child pageants. The BBC3 documentary Baby Beauty Queens follows contestants in the first-ever Mini Miss UK contest, and, as Eleanor M. blogs for The F word: it's "surely a new low." More »
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Emiri Miyasaka, Japan's Miss Universe, will adjust her official costume (pictured) after pageant organizers received complaints from more than 2,000 people, including one who said the kimono looked like "something a prostitute might wear." Maybe it's the garters? [Bloomberg] More »
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