Miss USA Will Go Into Rehab
Miss USA, Tara Conner, has agreed to go into rehab and will be allowed to keep her title, Donald Trump announced Tuesday.
"I've always been a believer in second chances … Tara is going to be given a second chance," Trump said.
Trump, who co-owns the Miss Universe Organization, said that he had planned to terminate Conner's reign before he met with her at 10 a. m. Tuesday morning.
But he said he changed his mind after talking with her. "I saw somebody that had a good heart that really, really tried … She left a small town in Kentucky and she was telling me she got caught up in the whirlwind of New York," Trump said.
"She's agreed to go into rehab," he said. He said later that the Miss USA organization will be doing periodic drug testing.
"If she weren't a good person, I wouldn't have done this, believe me," Trump said.
Crowned last April, Conner, a Kentucky native, will finish her reign. Her conduct was under review by the Miss Universe Organization due to reported "behavioral issues."
Conner was allegedly evaluated because of a few too many late nights out on the town in New York City where Conner is said to have engaged in underage drinking. Local newspapers have reported that Conner tested positive for cocaine.
Behavior such as underage drinking is clearly prohibited, a spokeswoman for the Miss Universe Organization said recently.
Photos: Tara Conner
"This has been a very difficult time for the Miss USA pageant," Trump said. "In the case of Tara she made some very, very bad choices … Some of those mistakes were bad mistakes."
In a tear-choked voice, Conner said, "In no way did I think it would be possible for a second chance to be given to me."
Conner apologized to her family and said, "Thank God I had the chance to make it right."
Trump said Conner will be moving back into her apartment at Trump Place on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
"I think Tara is going to be the great comeback kid," Trump said.
There was speculation that first runner up Miss California, Tamiko Nash, would take over as Miss USA if Conner was dethroned.
In a statement last week, the organization's president, Paula M. Shugart, said officials would evaluate Conner's "behavioral and personal issues to see what we can do to work with her and what we will do about her reign going forward."
After winning the Miss USA title in April, Conner finished fourth in the Miss Universe pageant in July. Conner has been competing in pageants since age 4.