Miss Nevada Fired Over Naughty Pix
Another Miss USA contestant has taken a tumble.
Miss Nevada USA was stripped of her title Thursday after racy photos of her appeared on the Internet, pageant officials said. Some of the photos show Katie Rees, 22, kissing other young women, exposing one of her breasts and pulling down her pants to show her thong underwear at a party in Tampa, Fla.
"Katie Rees has been relieved of her duties as Miss Nevada USA 2007," said Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, which owns the Miss USA pageant and others.
Rees' dismissal comes two days after Miss USA Tara Conner was allowed to keep her tiara when she agreed to go into alcohol rehab and a day after an anti-drunken driving group cut its ties with hard-partying Miss Teen USA Katie Blair.
Rees' attorney, Mario Torres, of Tampa, defended the blonde beauty queen in a statement sent to the entertainment television show "Extra."
"Katie Rees Miss Nevada USA wants the public to know she was 17 and had a lapse in judgment," he said. "The actions on that evening in subject are in no way indicative of the person she is or the person she has become. ... She is a law-abiding citizen and talented adult. This was an isolated incident that occurred more than five years ago when she was a minor."
Shugart made the decision to jettison Rees, and pageant co-owner Donald Trump supported it, said Miss Universe Organization spokeswoman Lark-Marie Anton.
Trump, who co-owns Miss Universe with NBC, gave Conner, 21, a second chance after meeting with her Tuesday. Trump said Conner, who agreed to undergo drug testing, was a good person with a good heart and deserved to keep her title.
Apparently, there will be no comeback for Rees, whose reign was truncated because of the photos.
Shugart said first runner-up Helen Salas will assume the title and compete at the next Miss USA pageant on March 23 in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, Mothers Against Drunk Driving announced it was ditching Blair, the Miss Teen USA, because it was "disappointed" by news reports that the 18-year-old from Billings, Mont., had been spotted partying with Miss USA in New York clubs.
By Adam Goldman
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Miss Nevada USA was stripped of her title Thursday after racy photos of her appeared on the Internet, pageant officials said. Some of the photos show Katie Rees, 22, kissing other young women, exposing one of her breasts and pulling down her pants to show her thong underwear at a party in Tampa, Fla.
"Katie Rees has been relieved of her duties as Miss Nevada USA 2007," said Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, which owns the Miss USA pageant and others.
Rees' dismissal comes two days after Miss USA Tara Conner was allowed to keep her tiara when she agreed to go into alcohol rehab and a day after an anti-drunken driving group cut its ties with hard-partying Miss Teen USA Katie Blair.
Pageant officials declined to provide a telephone number for Rees and said they didn't know when the photos of her were taken.Photos: Tara Conner
Rees' attorney, Mario Torres, of Tampa, defended the blonde beauty queen in a statement sent to the entertainment television show "Extra."
"Katie Rees Miss Nevada USA wants the public to know she was 17 and had a lapse in judgment," he said. "The actions on that evening in subject are in no way indicative of the person she is or the person she has become. ... She is a law-abiding citizen and talented adult. This was an isolated incident that occurred more than five years ago when she was a minor."
Shugart made the decision to jettison Rees, and pageant co-owner Donald Trump supported it, said Miss Universe Organization spokeswoman Lark-Marie Anton.
Trump, who co-owns Miss Universe with NBC, gave Conner, 21, a second chance after meeting with her Tuesday. Trump said Conner, who agreed to undergo drug testing, was a good person with a good heart and deserved to keep her title.
"I think Tara is going to be the great comeback kid," Trump said during his televised announcement, with a teary-eyed Conner by his side.
Video: Miss Nevada Photos, WCBS-TV reports
Apparently, there will be no comeback for Rees, whose reign was truncated because of the photos.
Rees has appeared as Miss Nevada USA at charity events such as the Goodie Two Shoe Giveaway, at which underprivileged students received free shoes, backpacks and school supplies.Story: Ex-Miss Nevada Pleads For Second Chance
Shugart said first runner-up Helen Salas will assume the title and compete at the next Miss USA pageant on March 23 in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, Mothers Against Drunk Driving announced it was ditching Blair, the Miss Teen USA, because it was "disappointed" by news reports that the 18-year-old from Billings, Mont., had been spotted partying with Miss USA in New York clubs.
By Adam Goldman
I do like hearing about kids being recognised for their achievemnts- academically, self dicipline activities like karate, mentally challenging competitions like chess or "bees". And it is very true what you say- the media does focus too much on the negative stories & not enough on the good.
And yeah, those beauty pageants where the little girls are made up to look like 18 yr old hookers are really disgusting & should be banned. How a father would allow other men to look at his daughter in that light is beyond me.
Not to give away the film, but near the end of Jet Li's latest film "Fearless" he says to his opponent that the goal is not to win, or kill, but "through competition one learns about himself". His opponent had greater respect & their competition then became one of honour, respect, & appreciation of each other's skills.
That is realy what it is all about in life, but most don't get it until it's too late.
I think that any activity that gives a child self-confidence is good for them. And if they have fun doing it, then that's just icing on the cake. And as for pageant moms living vicariously through their kids -- that's true of soccer, softball, football, tennis, golf, and cheerleading moms and dads too. I can honestly say that in almost 20 years of pageant experience, I've never seen a pageant mom physically attack a judge. But I have read about hockey dads and soccer dads and baseball dads taking their childrens' success in the competitions so seriously that they took it out on the coaches.
I never knew that there are pageants for boys. That is equally frightening to me for the same reason as the ones for girls. I would think that this beauty pageant business is a little different than modelling. At least the models get paid for each gig. The pageant contestants only get paid if they are the prettiest (or in the boys case, cutest?- I don't know).
And isn't beauty supposed to be in the eye of the beholder? So who ARE these strangers to judge how pretty or cute your child is?! Every parent knows that their own child is the best looking kid in the world- & one doesn't need a stranger to make that call!!!
Posted by ehshome at 02:30 PM : Dec 22, 2006"
Actually Trump DOES HAVE TO SIGN OFF ON IT!
2. ecuadoriana,
There are boy beauty pageants (Cover Miss and Cover Boy, Sunburst franchise, etc.). I have a friend whose son competed until he was 5 years old -- and he has a hefty $20,000 in bonds tucked away in his college fund for all his wins. Nowadays, he's a high school senior, a football player, active in many clubs, and neither he, nor his mother are the least bit ashamed of the money he made in those pageants.
I don't think that a retroactive punishment is appropriate such a situation. I would prefer that the person that posted the pictures on the web was sued for displaying photos of an underage youth.
Where is the balance in rightousness and viture along with forgiveness of our youthful activites.
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Posted by ecuadoriana at 10:01 AM : Dec 22, 2006"
Yup!
And it is just as well; Miss California, the runner up, is probably a lot better off keeping a dignified distance from this frazzle and fray surrounding Miss USA Ho. LOL
"Miss Nevada has a white runner up as replacement. Miss USA has a Black runner up..."
It is so clearly obvious that fat cat daddy trump wants to keep his little white harem intact.
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On another observation: what is wrong with parents of young women who encourage their daughters to 'ho themselves out like this? The parents know exactly what the future holds for their little girls- a life of being judged by what you look like, not who you are. The parents are no better than pimps by putting their daughters up for sale. It will be a beautiful day when beauty pageants cease to exist (there are no beauty pageants for little boys!!!).
Like Chris Rock said in "Never Scared": as a father your only job is to keep your daugter "off the pole, because if your daughter is on the pole- you f*cked up!!!"