JonBenet Ramsey's father calls beauty pageants "very bizarre"

John Ramsey addresses supporters in Charlevoix, Mich., Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004.

/ AP

(CBS News) Years before the TLC show "Toddlers and Tiaras" hit the small screen, there was JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty queen whose Dec. 26, 1996, murder gripped the nation.

Now, 15 years later, the children beauty pageant circuit has come to the forefront, with the culture glamorized on television, and JonBenet's dad finds it bizarre.

What did JonBenet's father, John Ramsey, have to say about the beauty pageant culture now?

John told ABC News that he has only caught snippets of the series, but says, "It's very bizarre ... And, it certainly - Patsy [JonBenet's mother] and JonBenet didn't approach it that way ... They just did it for fun."

"Patsy had just come out of cancer treatments, I think deep down she didn't know how long she had to live and how much time she had to spend with her child, so she tried to pack a lot into a day," he explained.

Still, even back then, he didn't like all aspects of the beauty competitions.

"I saw an element of competitiveness that I thought was unhealthy," he said, adding, "I used to always tell her [JonBenet] that it's your talent that counts, don't worry if you're not always the prettiest."

John visited "Good Morning America" to talk about his new book, "The Other Side of Suffering."

JonBenet's killer still has not be found. At one point, her parents were under investigation, but have since been cleared. JonBenet's mother died in 2006 of ovarian cancer.

Tell us: What do you think about "Toddlers and Tiaras"?

[debbie1120]

He and Patsy never approach like this. Maybe he didn't but I bet Patsy did. I don't agree with putting a child in these pagents. It is very upsetting to a small child that doesn't understand why they didn't receive an award. Leave the pagents to the older kids that understand it better.

[rightontarget]

Well, to each his own I guess. The "beauty pagent" thing is just NOT for me. I think it's great to "compete" in any contest, sports or otherwise that requires skill, talent and ability but to compete just on the "surface ****" of how you look or how cute your outfit is, well that's just sooooooooo superficial. I think it teaches children to put too much value on "beauty" and not enough on what is really important. And, by the way, after watching one episode of "Toddlers and Tiaras" I was through. I think it's more about the Mother's than the kids. No self-respecting Mom would put her kid through that. The Mom's pushed them into it by "encouraging" them that they must be "beautiful". I bet half the kids wouldn't even want to be in something like that until the "Mom" introduced them to it and pushed them to want to participate. It's just stupid.

[Henri_Rochard]

What a ******* hypocrite !!

[Coleman6200]

I don't understand how little girls participating in a beauty pageant is such a terrible thing. How is it different from boys competing in sports? Boys are indoctrinated from a young age to "enjoy it" They cry, they are pushed by their parents and pressured to excel and compete...others watch them for entertainment. ...Just trying to understand why pageants get so much public outcry...

[signseeker1717]

It's a LOT different.

Sports teach teamwork, discipline, and develops coordination and physical strength.

Beauty pageants overwhelmingly focus on the physical APPEARANCE of the individual.

[JavMD]

Then Mr. Ramsey should be doing MORE ! His agenda should be for MEDIA to STOP all commercialization, publizing these pagents !

YOU DO NOT SEE ...CAGE FIGHTING on any MAJOR network !

Then stop this to the children.

ATTENTION CBS... do a special on where these kids are now... the ones who competed with JonBENET... WHATS THE DATA SHOW....

ISO 9000: (business management makes informed decisions based on data)... what is becoming of these children?

[valopinion]

These are mothers living vicariously through their children who are indoctrinated to do this from infancy so they don't know any different and have been taught to "think" that they enjoy doing it even though it is clear from the tears and frustration that they don't. These kids don't have a normal life and the mothers are screwing up their own kids while it becomes "entertainment" for Americans who have a twisted notion that putting make-up and heels and having toddlers dance seductively is somehow cute. It is NOT cute or normal and like others have pointed out, you KNOW it has to be feeding the pedophile mind like porn does to a porn addict.

[annmac38]

You are right about the pedophile aspect--and in addition it's teaching little girls that the only thing that matters is their looks. That is the wider impact.

[jgnv]

Totally agree with all of your comments. I will admit I never watch this program, but have seen enough clips to know that it's the mothers who need to put on some makeup and heels, not the toddlers who are going to suffer later when they are no longer little beauty queens.

[annmac38]

I'm glad this father has see what a bad idea toddler pageants are. The sexualization of babies is terrible---however there's a deeper wrong here. Why would you want to teach little girls that the only thing valuable in their life is beauty and beauty competition? We've learned what problems teens have in thinking that their looks define them. Why don't we stop these thoughts when they are young? Women were able to prove themselves as equal decades ago---but now are portrayed as brainless sexual objects in the media. Why begin and perpetuate this myth with baby pageants?

[gofaster59]

I have only seen snippits of this show and refuse to watch it. I feel that tuning in is supporting this garbage. These parents should be arrested. What they are doing is little more then whoring out theie children. No child should be subjected to this crap. The network should also be charged with child endangerment.This is little more then a pedifile haven.

[Jame-_V]

No child should be subjected the way those pagents are ran. period, toddlers and tiaras shoudl be illegal.

its just basically more twilight which is just porn for kids.