Miss N.J. Reveals Alleged Blackmail Photos

Amy Polumbo Says She Wants To "End This"; Will Meet With Pageant Officials

(AP)  Miss New Jersey, trying to keep her crown in the midst of an alleged blackmail attempt, released photos Thursday showing her "not in a ladylike manner." She said she "felt sick to her stomach."

"I want to end this," Amy Polumbo said on NBC's "Today" show hours before she was to meet with pageant officials who will decide whether she will represent the Garden State in the Miss America pageant.

The pictures include one showing what Polumbo said was her boyfriend apparently biting her breast through her shirt, another of Polumbo in a limousine wearing jeans with her legs spread in the air, and another of her in what appears to be a Halloween costume dress holding two small pumpkins up to her breasts.

"It's not in a ladylike manner. I'm not a robot. I'm a human being," Polumbo said.

There were also photos of Polumbo drinking, but the 22-year-old college student said she was of legal age when they were taken.

Polumbo said she didn't think the pictures should lead to the loss of her crown but said other people might interpret them differently.

"What I think is OK, someone else's eyebrows could be raised," she said.

Polumbo's lawyer, Anthony Caruso, said that a person or persons claiming to be The Committee to Save Miss America threatened to make the photos public unless she resigned her title.

"Amy and I are very optimistic that the pageant committee will take the proper course and support her," Caruso said.

The photos were taken from Polumbo's former Facebook Web page, which has since been taken offline.

Polumbo described many of the photos as they were shown. Of the shot of her boyfriend appearing to bite her breast through her shirt, she said, "He's being silly and immature. This was meant to be private. It was not accessible to the general public. It was supposed to be between my friends and I."

At least two of the board's five directors said this week they don't consider the photos to be a big problem. One board member, Mark Soifer, described the photos as "kids having a good time at a party."

[keithle1]

"Mistakes were made." "I'm sorry if I let anyone down." "Please respect my privacy at this sensitive time." Why are most of these beauty contestants bland, boring, sexless blondes?
Get girls drunk or get them with their friends & they'll do just about anything. Big whoop. Is it a surprise? Not like she's the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

[janharris56]

If people want to be in the public eye they have to realize that they will be talked about. They want to be noticed, that is why they chose the paths they travel. One has to think before acting, the public will be watching past, present and future that is the way it is. If you want to have your life private than choose another path. We are not here to judge others, it is not our place. Best of luck to Miss NJ, the choices were hers, if she had a good time and thought it was OK than so be it. She is the one who has to be comfortable with it and apparently from what she says she is.

[ajaxrose1]

Good for her! The moron who was trying to blackmail her with goofy little photos like she's describing is probably feeling pretty stupid right about now, and they should. For pete's sake, anyway. If they take her title away over it, then that will a shame.

[bobgee_1999]

Pretty tame photos. Still, beauty pagents are vacuous.

[scot008]

This story is newsworthy for two reasons. First, it highlights a significant risk of participating in certain internet activities. Second, provides a vehicle to share opinions on morality in blogs like this. Personally, I am pleased that a very small percentage of comments express moral objections to these photographs. They are utterly benign.

[lanaedawn]

This is definitely NOT a NEWSWORTHY story!
Posted by JEGibbons at 01:51 PM : Jul 12, 2007


It is under the Showbuzz section of the website...

[puzzler125]

Oh baloney! Even nuns don't have clean slates. From the day you are born you should be under a microscope and never pick your nose either?

[c1rodz]

Isn't blackmail illegal/criminal? Expose the blackmailer for the lowlife extortionist that he/she is. The girl was a 22 yr old consenting adult when the photos were taken....live a little. Kudos for her for being brave enough to go public and face the loser who was bullying her!

[jetlizhan]

big deal - leave the girl alone. we've all done silly stuff like this (and much, much worse)and i hope the pageant officials let her go on to the miss america pageant.

[jscribe58]

If they're just playful, teasy pictures, hats off to the girl for refusing to be blackmailed. Gotto be friends of the runners up. For such personal pictures, somebody close to her had to see the opportunity to make some money by selling the photos. Greed is a powerful opportunist. With any kind of luck, the committee will crush this into the ground where it belongs.