Carrie Prejean

Carrie Prejean (born Caroline Michelle Prejean on May 13, 1987) is an American beauty pageant contestant and model from Vista, California. She currently holds the title of Miss California USA 2009, and placed first runner up in the Miss USA 2009 pageant. She gained nationwide attention over her answer to a question about same-sex marriage.

Prejean has appeared as a model for Target, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, and Nordstrom. She has also appeared in Bliss magazine, as a model for E!: Entertainment Television at the 81st Academy Awards, and as first runner-up on the Deal or No Deal Season 3 Model Search.

Personal life

Prejean grew up in an evangelical Christian home in Vista, California and graduated in 2005 from Vista High School. She is currently a senior at San Diego Christian College, a small, evangelical liberal arts college located in El Cajon, California, and attends The Rock Church, where she volunteers with their outreach ministries. Prejean also attends Luv-em-Up Ministries in El Cajon, where she volunteers with members with developmental disabilities. Prejean is studying to become a special education teacher and also volunteers for Best Buddies, a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities, and for the Special Olympics.

Pageants

Prejean competed in the Miss California Teen USA 2005 pageant and placed first runner-up to Stephanie Brink. In 2007, she competed in the Miss California USA 2008 pageant and initially placed third runner-up; later a judging error was discovered and she was promoted to first runner-up.

Prejean returned the following year and won the Miss California USA 2009 title, succeeding Raquel Beezley as California's representative to the Miss USA pageant. A few weeks prior to the Miss USA pageant, Prejean received free breast implants paid for by the Miss California pageant committee. The co-director of the Miss California pageant said, "We assisted when Carrie came to us and voiced the interest in having the procedure done, we want to put her in the best possible confidence in order to present herself in the best possible light on a national stage." Prejean competed at the nationally televised Miss USA 2009 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009 and placed first runner-up. Prejean's answer to her final question during the pageant became the subject of controversy.

Miss USA 2009 controversy

Main article: Miss USA 2009 controversy

During the 2009 Miss USA pageant, Prejean was asked by pageant judge Perez Hilton whether she believed every U.S. state should legalize same-sex marriage. She responded, "Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman."

Hilton called Prejean's answer "the worst in pageant history", telling ABC News that she lost the crown because of it. He stated that "There are various other ways she could have answered that question and still stayed true to herself without alienating millions of people."

Prejean stated that she was told by Miss California USA pageant officials that "You need to not talk about your faith" and was pressured to apologize for her statement. A spokesperson for the Miss California Pageant denied these claims and accused Prejean of lying.

Several elected officials and political pundits criticized Hilton and defended Prejean for honestly stating her personal beliefs. Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco and a prominent supporter of same-sex marriage, also defended Prejean.

Post-Miss USA Pageant

Following the pageant, Prejean appeared in a television advertisement for the National Organization for Marriage's campaign against gay marriage, which had contacted her shortly after the pageant. She also hired a Christian public relations firm. On May 1, Prejean stated on Greta Van Susteren that she did not have an opinion on civil unions for same-sex couples, but that she supports rights of same-sex couples, such as hospital visitations. She has also stated that she would be willing to meet with representatives from California's largest gay rights group "as long as it's not political."

Photograph controversy

On May 4, 2009, a photograph of Prejean partially nude with her back turned to the camera appeared on a celebrity gossip blog. The directors of the Miss California USA pageant are investigating Prejean for potentially violating a contract clause against prospective pageant candidates having been photographed "nude or partially nude". Prejean stated on May 5 that she had posed for that shot as a seventeen-year-old model and that she sees no problem with it, saying that "I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be." She also objected to its current release. She has stated that she was "naive, and young" at the time of the photography and regrets having made the decision.

National Organization for Marriage president Maggie Gallagher stated on May 5 that the release would not affect Prejean's role. She commented that "On a personal note, as a former unwed mother, I want to say to Americans: you don't have to be a perfect person to have the right to stand up for marriage." Alicia Jacobs, a local reporter for KVBC in Las Vegas who served as a judge at the Miss USA pageant, has stated that the pictures "go beyond what the Miss California pageant says are appropriate," and do not befit Prejean's status.

External links

• Miss California USA official website