Miss USA 2022 FIXING SCANDAL: Miss Montana alleges pageant was FIXED for winner Miss Texas
RENO, NEVADA: The Miss USA pageant has come under fire after the contestants slammed the organization with cheating allegations claiming that the 2022 pageant was rigged to let Miss Texas win the crown.
R'Bonney Gabriel made history after being crowned Miss USA on Monday, October 03, 2022. With this huge win, Gabriel became the first Asian and Filipina-American to win the prestigious national beauty pageant. But Miss Montana, Heather Lee O’Keefe feels ‘there was favoritism towards Miss Texas USA’.
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Sending shockwaves through the interweb, Heather took to her TikTok handle to outline the cheating claims. "Most of the Miss USA contestants feel very strongly that there was favoritism towards Miss Texas USA and we have the receipts to prove it," she said in her TikTok video. "We are putting our titles on the line, putting our reputations on the line," O'Keefe said in an Instagram Live on Wednesday, Oct 5. "That's how strongly we feel about believing and standing up for what is right."
@heatherleeokeefe #missusa #missusa2022 #riggedreimagined ♬ original sound - Heather Lee O’Keefe, J.D.
"There are many of us who have even said we are willing to relinquish our titles to take this stand because that's how serious we are about this," she claimed. Miss Montana also shared a clip from the show where all the other contestants were seen walking off the stage while Gabriel was left alone to celebrate her win. She stated that the Class of 2021 had filed a lawsuit against the organizers, but did not reveal what it involved.
@heatherleeokeefe @Jas but wait… there’s more!!! 🐸 ☕️ #missusa #missusa2022 #missusascandal #pageantryreimagined #rbonneygabriel #misstexasusa ♬ original sound - Heather Lee O’Keefe, J.D.
Amid the controversy, Miss New York Heather Nunez also shared her views on the allegations and said she was taken aback by what happened at the pageant. "I am lost for words," she said on her Instagram stories. "The way I entered this pageant and gave it every last bit of my heart and soul ... We were humiliated, thinking we entered something with a fair chance."
@heatherleeokeefe Replying to @callmejas0 #greenscreen #missusa #missusa2022 #missusadrama #missusascandal #pageant #part2 ♬ original sound - Heather Lee O’Keefe, J.D.
The allegations spread like a forest fire after the video of contestants leaving the stage went viral on the Internet. In the video, contestants were seen leaving the stage as the credits rolled, leaving Gabriel to celebrate all alone. Usually, runner-ups stay on the stage and celebrate with the winner with hugs, kisses and twinkling smiles on their faces. Addressing the sight, former Miss USA contestant Jasmine Jones, said it became obvious that the pageant was fixed when the women began leaving the stage.
@heatherleeokeefe #greenscreen #missusa #missusadrama #missusa2022 #pageantdrama #pageanttok ♬ original sound - Heather Lee O’Keefe, J.D.
"In the background, girls were literally clapping [weakly] and they started exiting the stage before she even turned around for her congratulatory hug from other contestants. Before she even got halfway down the runway for her crowning moment, the contestants behind her were exiting the stage," said Jones, who has been in pageant business for 10 years.
Later, during an Instagram live on Wednesday, October 05, O'Keefe said the early exit was "unprecedented" and wasn’t done because of the bitter feeling of losing. "We all just acted, at the moment, what we thought was right," she said during her Instagram Live on Wednesday, Oct 5. "We are a class of Division I athletes, Harvard alumni, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and people who fought for their citizenship to this country."
Miss Montana claimed that she has nothing against Gabriel. "Nothing against Texas as a person, I truly think she could’ve won fair and square, but unfortunately, all of this drama has tainted her win. But there’s just too much evidence of favoritism to let this go unnoticed," O'Keefe said on social media.
Backing her claims, O’Keefe pointed out that NIZUC Resort & Spa posted a video of Gabriel enjoying an all-inclusive spa less than 24 hours after her crowning. The inclusive spa was part of her winning prize. O'Keefe claimed it was a clear indication of "favoritism" as that the trip had happened "nine weeks ago," far before the crowning on Monday night on Oct 3.
"@MissUSA was crowned less than 24 hours ago, yet she already got her sponsored vacation to @NIZUCResort," O’Keefe wrote on Instagram. "Are you kidding me? I was giving y’all the benefit of the doubt, but this is just embarrassing at this point." While O’Keefe broke down the drama on TikTok where it quickly went viral, she’s far from the only one speaking out. Miss Georgia USA Holly Haynes has been re-sharing Instagram stories from several of her fellow contestants including Miss Kentucky USA Lizzy Neutz, Miss New Jersey Alexandra Lakshman, Miss Kansas USA Elyse Noe, Miss Massachusetts Skarlet Ramirez, and Miss Virginia USA Kailee Horvath.