Carrie Prejean, Miss California USA, learned this week that if you find yourself starting to say, “No offense to anybody” in front of a big crowd of people, the next thing out of your mouth will make someone mad.
Prejean, the first runner-up at the Miss USA 2009 pageant, caused a stir earlier this week when she stumbled her way through a trap question from judge Perez Hilton.
The Miss USA Pageant is a competition known for celebrating answers like “I would change my feet. I hate having a size nine,” for questions like “If you could change one part of your past, what would it be?”
Hilton broke the mold and asked an insightful, hot-button question that far surpassed the contestant’s preparation.
“Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage,” Hilton asked. “Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”
Prejean has claimed her answer, which has been bashed by liberal bloggers like Hilton for its conservative tilt, lost her the crown. Hilton has confirmed that he would not have let her win the pageant following her answer. However, it was not what Prejean said that lost the crown, but how she said it.
“Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. Um, we live in a land that you can choose same- sex marriage or opposite marriage, and, you know what, in my country and in, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman,” Prejean said to mostly cheers from the Las Vegas crowd. “No offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised, and that’s how I think that it should be: between a man and a woman.”
She was obviously caught defenseless. If a Miss USA contestant choked on her words that much while talking about how much she loves puppies, she would have lost. Beauty pageants judge based on style and poise. Prejean showed little of either in her answer.
Perhaps she should have known the judge she was talking to better and pandered to him. Perhaps she should have shown a little better understanding of states’ rights. Perhaps she should be respected for sticking to her beliefs despite being given a loaded question.
Prejean’s opinion is shared by a clear majority of Americans. Her home state of California recently overturned its law allowing same-sex marriages. In fact, only one state, Vermont, has passed a law through the legislature allowing same-sex marriages. A 2008 CBS News poll found that nationally only 33 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. Even President Obama does not support gay marriage, as he opts for civil unions.
The Miss USA Pageant is hardly a progressive atmosphere either. In 2002, on-camera interview time was cut to make way for more bikini time. To be honest, no one really cares what these girls think. Prejean tried to follow the safest path and failed because she called marriage between a man and a woman “opposite marriage.”
Paul Kimbrough is a senior majoring in biological engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].