I normally could care less about beauty pageants. Watching a bunch of superficially attractive women that the average Joe (like me) would never have a chance with, parading on the stage and giving their ideas for world peace is not my idea of must-see TV.

But what's a beauty pageant without a little controversy? This time, it has nothing to do with a mother sabotaging her daughter's competition, nor is it a contestant giving a judge another bizarre, head scratching answer. This answer was actually, to the horror of the judge, honest.

Perez Hilton, an openly gay celebrity blogger, was one of the judges of pageant. He asked one of the finalists, Carrie Prejean (Miss California), the following question in the final segment:

"Vermont recently became the 4^th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suite, why or why not?"

Carrie Prejean's answer:

"Well, I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that, you can choose same-sex or opposite marriage (Carrie... just for future reference, it's called heterosexual marriage). And, you know what? In my country, in my family, I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman (It's like that in my country too, Carrie. Sorry, I like poking fun at beauty contestants.). No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised, and that's how I think it should be, between a man and a woman."

Ok, I never claimed it was an eloquent response.

The audience gave a mixed reaction to the answer. Miss Prejean won first runner up in the pageant. Here's where it starts to get ugly... it's rumored that Miss Prejean's answer was a little "too honest" for the judges and it is believed that it may have cost her the pageant. I've heard no real proof of this, and to me, this is just speculation at this point.

Perez Hilton later did a rather flamboyant video blog on YouTube (warning: contains some crass language) that, in a nutshell, lambasted Miss Prejean for not being "politically correct" and giving "the worst answer" in pageant history. In a later interview on the "Today" show, Hilton stated that Miss Prejean should have "left her politics and her religion out, because Miss USA represents all Americans."

First of all, Mr. Hilton, I don't consider Miss USA to be my representative. I could care less who she is, or what she does. The only winner of the pageant I can actually name from memory is Vanessa Williams, and that's only due to the notoriety she gained from the scandal that followed the pageant, though she isn't exactly suffering from that anymore.

Second, if Mr. Hilton really thinks that Miss Prejean should have "left her politics and religion out", then why in the hell did he ask such a politically and religiously loaded question if he wasn't ready for an answer he disagreed with?

Is this what it comes down to now, a contestant not being allowed to give an honest answer if they think that it won't mesh with the judge's belief system? This isn't just from a conservative viewpoint. Let's look at the question from a different angle. What if an openly conservative and religious judge (not likely in a beauty pageant, I know, but play along with me here) asked a liberal contestant a similar question this way?

"The state of California has recently passed an amendment that overturns gay marriage. Should other states follow suite? Why, or why not?"

Should the liberal contestant, who in this case disagrees with the new amendment, be allowed to answer honestly, or should she cater to the beliefs of the judge to increase her chances of winning a contest? Should she be the object of a profanity laced rant by the conservative judge on YouTube because of her honest answer?

I can tell you with a straight face that, despite me being a conservative, I would side with the contestant over the judge in this case. No one, conservative or liberal alike, deserved the kind of treatment that Miss Prejean received from Mr. Hilton.

I should point out that during an interview on Sean Hannity's radio program this evening, she has stated that she even received emails from gay and lesbian groups apologizing for the behavior of Perez Hilton.

On an interview with Larry King, Perez has stated that he hopes that he'll be invited for the pageant next year. I don't see that happening. He also stated his invitation to Miss Prejean to go "out for a cup of coffee." I don't see that happening either.

Oh, and the winner of the Miss USA pageant? Miss North Carolina, Kristen Dalton. As if anyone will remember now. Sometimes, people do remember who came in second, over who came in first.

Sources:

Hilton, Miss California Take Sides on "Today"The Associated Press

The Sean Hannity Show: April 22, 2009

YouTube: Answer Why Miss USA Didn't Win Miss USA (Perez Hilton)

YouTube: Larry King Live Interview