In a beauty of a $5 million legal win, Donald Trump has emerged victorious in his ugly battle with Miss USA hopeful Sheena Monnin, who claimed the pageant was “fixed” and “trashy.”
Former Miss Pennsylvania Monnin quit the competition in June, claiming a fellow contestant had seen a list containing the top five winners before they were officially announced. She blasted the pageant as “fraudulent, lacking in morals, inconsistent and in many ways trashy.”
That didn’t go down well with The Donald, who fired back that he was suing on behalf of the Miss Universe Organization, which filed an arbitration action in New York.
Late last week, retired US District Court Magistrate Judge Theodore H. Katz ruled that Monnin defamed the Miss Universe Organization, and awarded it $5 million in damages. He found that “the method in which the Miss USA Pageant is judged . . . precludes any reasonable possibility that the judging was rigged.” Katz stated that Monnin’s “defamatory” statements “were false” and, “showed a reckless disregard.”
Trump last night called Monnin’s actions “disgraceful” and said, “We cannot allow a disgruntled contestant to make false and reckless statements which are damaging to the many people who have devoted their hearts and souls to the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageant systems.”
About Monnin, who failed to secure a spot in the Miss USA semifinals, Trump continued, “She was angry that she lost, she went on the ‘Today’ show and she said really bad stuff. You can’t rig the celebrity judges. Ernst & Young tabulate the results, and they were unbelievably upset about her comments.
“Going to arbitration was the appropriate action to take under the circumstances, and while I feel very badly for Sheena, she did the wrong thing. She was really nasty, and we had no choice. It is an expensive lesson for her.”
Olivia Culpo went on to win the USA pageant, and will compete in the Miss Universe pageant tomorrow. Monnin’s lawyer didn’t return calls.