The Miss America Controversy....

[Alex]

Miss North Carolina had her title stripped because her ex-boyfriend took pictures of her topless.

The boyfriend notified the Miss North Carolina contest that he had topless pictures of the newly crowned Miss Carolina, and as a result, Miss North Carolina lost her title.

Before the boyfriend snapped the pictures of her, did he warn her that he might use those topless pictures of her against her will at a later date?

The boyfriends actions seem like an act of extortion, or at the very least, malice. Am I missing something here, this seems so obvious to me.

The boyfriend needs to be tried, convicted, and put in jail.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 13, 2002 09:44 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>

[soulfilms]

i'm not condoning his actions but surely she must be aware that by having her photographs taken, the photos do not belong to her and is out of her hand? this is tricky issue.

[Alex]

But it's still extortion or malice to use a photo to harm another's career.

If the women had actively tried to solicit money for the photo, then she has no case, but if the photo was taken in private, then the act of changing the motive of the photo to public and in the process harming the women is misuse of the photo.

Where is his "release" form. All she has to say is he said there was no film in the camera when he pointed the camera. Even if there was film in the camera it still is an act of malice misrepresented as an act of kindness.

It's Fraud. Too bad our ex-resident expert on that subject has been banned.

[soulfilms]

how gullible of a girl to believe that a man is pointing and shooting pictures of his naked girlfriend without any film. yes it was fraud but it wasn't as if he was shooting at her from the window next door. she POSED for the pictures. take some responsibility!

[soulfilms]

i don't think it's at all a bad thing that she was dethroned. pageants are a crock of **** with its hypocrisy and politics.

[Alex]

Perhaps the problem is that the boyfriend is the one skewering her career. If he kept the photo on the refrigerator door with a magnet, and his best friend stole it and sent it to the Miss America contest, then one could argue it was a careless situation.

But why should a presumeably ex-boyfriend be allowed to yield such power over someone no longer in his life?

[soulfilms]

don't you find it somewhat even more disturbing that a panel of people sit down to judge girls and pick the most 'perfect' of the bunch and any public sign of imperfection has such grand repercussions?

i think we are discussing different issues.

[Alex]

Ah, but all the women contestants are allowed to "cheat" equally. They can all tape their breasts together for more cleveage if they want, add tape to their buttocks so their clothes are more form fitting...etc, etc...
(ps, don't try this at home. On the runway of a national Television special, yes, but at home, no!)

So perhaps the pageant contestants are actually being judged on who is the best at arts and crafts. [img]confused.gif[/img]

OK, they do get a lot of money and potential success from being in the pageant, even if they lose. This particular controversy was over who would represent the state of North Carolina in the Miss America contest.

I don't know if she won her protest to regain her state title or not.
But even if you believe the contest is demeaning, isn't it even more demeaning to have someone else derail you in this manner?

[Alex]

Rebekah, you need to sue the Miss America contest for not standing up for your right to be a part of their contest. They have validated extortion. They should be sued, and you should do it.

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Premium Video: Former Miss North Carolina Rebekah Revels was forced to give up her dreams over topless photos.


Miss North Carolina, Rebekah Revels, dropped out of the Miss America pageant after an ex-boyfriend sent a troubling e-mail to pageant officials. (ABCNEWS.com)
Goodbye to a Dream

Fearing Scandal, N.C. Beauty Queen Resigns

July 29 ? Miss North Carolina said she dropped out of the race for Miss America after her ex-boyfriend wrote to pageant officials suggesting they ask her about two photographs in which she appeared nude.



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Rebekah Revels, a 24-year-old woman who was crowned Miss North Carolina a month ago, resigned last Tuesday.

She submitted her resignation to state pageant officials after learning that a former boyfriend made defaming remarks about her character in an e-mail to the Miss America organization. Miss America pageant officials said that Revels resigned of her own free will, but she described it as sort of a pre-emptive strike. She felt that the pageant would not have let her compete because of what they perceived as a breach of the contract's moral clause.

"My ex-boyfriend e-mailed the Miss America Organization with some (suggestion of) questionable character, specifically dealing with a photo that he had taken," Revels said."But it was a bad relationship. It was something that I have grown from and have overcome that obstacle with him, but he really used that against me to defame my character."

A Bad Break-Up

Her former boyfriend had surprised her by taking the photos while she was changing, Revels said. The photos depicted her nude from the waist up, and showed her breasts and her face. She and her former boyfriend had a bad break-up, Revels said.

"We dated for quite some time, and I trusted him," Revels said. "And he used this (photo) against me at the point where he knew it was my breaking point, something to take away from me, something I had worked for my whole life because I hurt him."

Revels, who is Lumbee Indian, would have had a shot at becoming the first Native American to ever win Miss America.

Officials from the Miss America Organization said that Revels voluntarily chose to resign from her position. Her situation was discussed at a meeting of the organization's national Board of Directors, where it was revealed that the photographs had been taken, and could be made public.

The pageant's board of directors told the Miss North Carolina officials that if the photographs existed and put her in violation of the contestant contract then she would be ineligible to compete at the national level.

The contract prohibits contestants from "engaging in any activity that could reasonably be characterized as dishonest, immoral or indecent and from conducting themselves in any manner that is inconsistent with the standards and dignity of the Miss America Program," a statement from the Miss America Organization said.

Not Like Williams' Case

After North Carolina pageant officials relayed the national organization's stance to Revels, she resigned.

In 1984, Vanessa Williams, the first African-American to ever win the Miss America crown, resigned from the post, after nude photos that had been taken several years before she became Miss America surfaced. Revels said her situation is different from that of Williams, who had posed for the nude photos.

In regards to the morality clause in the Miss America contract, Revels said the contract is subjective. She doesn't condone the photos, and admits that they were a mistake from her past.

"I think that they did what they thought was best," Revels said. "I signed that contract with honesty and integrity that I have now as a person. I had no idea that this guy would do this to me. I had no idea that the pictures even still existed. And I would have never signed the contract if I did not think that I was honest and moral and a good person."

Revels, who was Miss Fayetteville, sang a Puccini aria to win Miss North Carolina. She was a high school English teacher and planned to use the $12,000 scholarship from the NC title to pursue advanced degrees. She still plans to continue with her plan to seek a master's degree.

After competing in beauty contests since she was 2 years old, her choice to drop out was not easy.

"It was a very hard decision," Revels said. "But I wanted to save my family and myself from going through a bad situation."

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[soulfilms]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Alex:

So perhaps the pageant contestants are actually being judged on who is the best at arts and crafts. [img]confused.gif[/img]

</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

now THAT is a funny interpretation of beauty pageantry.

i believe that sort of exhibitionism is not just demeaning but also setting up unrealistic expectations, so whilst i feel sorry for this poor girl who has just been offed by an ex, i really don't think too much of it because
a. she posed
b. it's like winning the best colouring in competition. it tries to make something out of nothing.