Former Miss USA president condemns 2022 contestants for using their voice for the ‘wrong reason’

nypost.com:

rigging the competition in favor of Miss Texas, a new documentary revealed. Crystle Stewart, 42, who lost her position over the accusations, slammed the beauty queens for accusing her of preselecting R’Bonney Gabriel as the winner.

Stewart – who held her position for three years before being permanently removed – sat down with filmmakers for her first interview involving the 2022 scandal to address the claims multitudes of contestants accused her of. “I want tell them that I actually commend them for using their voice and coming together,” the 2008 Miss Texas winner, who appeared stiff throughout her interview, told filmmakers of The New York Times and FX documentary. “It shows that if we unify and work together, how it can amplify your voice,” Stewart continued, as she often glanced toward her lawyer, Nathan Sheffield, off-camera. “But they used it for the wrong reason.” After the 2022 pageant, contestants took to social media to claim the competition was rigged in favor of then-Miss Texas, R’Bonney Gabriel, who went on to win Miss Universe. “My whole family came and they were telling me: ‘So-and-so said, you know, apparently it’s going to go to Texas,'” Miss DC Faith Porter told How to Fix a Pageant filmmakers. “I remember saying: ‘Everyone really likes her in the staff, but I don’t know if they would crown her because the directors are going to riot.'”They claimed she was given favored treatment, including a hair and makeup team, and the women had heard rumors throughout pageant week that the Texas-native and fashion designer was the one to be crowned.

Stewart denies any favoritism or rigging occurred, telling filmmakers she was “not at all” involved in picking the winner. An independent investigation by Holland &.