In recent years, the Miss America and Miss USA pageants have been places viewers can see how well-poised, educated women field tough questions about divisive issues the country is facing. The 2012 Miss America competition was no exception, as Miss New York was asked about Occupy Wall Street. But similar to Carrie Prejean’s pro-traditional marriage answer from the 2009 Miss USA competition, Miss New York’s reasonable answer to a hot button political question may have landed her as the runner up.
On Sunday Jan. 15 during the Miss America competition in Las Vegas, Nevada, Miss New York Kaitlin Monte was asked whether the protestors that comprise “Occupy Wall Street” had a valid point. Her response was tepid at best, showing neither full support, nor full dismissal of the movement.
“Occupy Wall Street brought discourse. ... If they're going to come up and complain about a problem, they have to come up with solutions, too. You can't just say there is a problem without trying to troubleshoot.”
Though her response drew applause, the judges were probably hoping for more full-fledged support of the liberal movement The judges (among them, Mark Ballas of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and Lara Spencer of Good Morning America) are all employed by the left-leaning ABC and Comcast (with the exception of Raul de Molina, employed by Univision). Though there’s no direct evidence that her lack of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement is what secured her place as first runner up (3rd place), the contest is reminiscent of the 2009 Miss USA controversy in which an honest, non-liberal answer landed Miss California’s Carrie Prejean in hot water.
In April 2009 during the Miss America competition, judge and notorious gay blogger and celebrity bully, Perez Hilton asked Carrie Prejean (Miss California) whether or not states should follow Vermont’s example and legalize same-sex marriage. Prejean’s response, affirming her support for traditional marriage started a firestorm of controversy, prompting Hilton to call her a “c**t” and a “dumb b***h.” Prejean believes she lost the crown because of her honest answer about gay marriage.
