Miss Carrie Prejean, 21, Miss California and the runner-up at the Miss USA beauty pageant’s opposition to homosexual marriage cost her first place in the competition.
During the final round of the Miss USA contest last Sunday, Perez Hilton, one of the contest's judges, was chosen to ask Miss Prejean her final question. Mr Hilton asked:
‘Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?’
Miss Prejean responded:
‘Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you.'
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY-1cybT6p8)
Miss Prejean’s answer was met with applause from members of the audience.
Perez Hilton, who appeared to be holding back his anger following Ms Perjean’s response, exploded with rage against her in a video posting on his blog.
Mr Hilton (real name Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr.) is an American blogger and television personality and openly homosexual. His blog (formerly known as PageSixSixSix.com) posts gossip items about musicians, actors and celebrities. In the blog that he posted just moments after the pageant ended, Mr Hilton called the answer Miss Prejean had given as ‘the worst answer in pageant history’. Later, he claimed 'She lost not because she doesn’t believe in gay marriage, she lost because she’s a dumb b**ch!’
Mr Hilton had previously remarked to ABC News: 'She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the front-runner before that.'
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8009359.stm)
He also said Miss Prejean has ‘half a brain’ and he would have stormed onto the stage and ripped off her tiara if she had won. He added that she could have answered that question in a more neutral way by perhaps acknowledging that same-sex marriage is a hot topic in US and that each US state should decide for itself how that issue should be handled.
Many commentators viewed Mr Hilton’s attitude and comments as an expression of intolerance. For example, Michelle Malkin, an American commentator and blogger, said:
‘The Miss USA pageant should be ashamed for providing Perez Hilton a platform for his intolerant bigotry and abuse of Carrie Prejean’.
Gary Schneeberger, vice-president of Focus on the Family, was among many who pointed out that Mr Hilton and his supporters were not showing Miss Prejean the same tolerance demanded by the homosexual community.
'Those who lean to the left ideologically like to paint those of us on the other side as the "intolerant" ones,' Mr Schneeberger wrote. 'But some of them are going to have a hard time whitewashing the intolerance they've shown to Carrie Prejean.'
Miss Prejean’s answer sparked huge discussion and she says she is proud she stayed true to her beliefs and would not change the response. After the contest, she defended her views on NBC’s 'Today' show, telling host Matt Lauer that she spoke from the heart during the pageant when she said that ‘marriage should be between a man and a woman.’
She said: 'I have spoken from my heart, from my beliefs and for my God. I wouldn't have answered it differently. It is not about being politically correct. For me, it is about being Biblically correct'.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30322011#30322011
Mr Hilton, who also appeared on the same show, said his question was relevant and that Prejean should have ‘left her politics and her religion out because Miss USA represents all Americans.’
(http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/04/21/ap6319285.html)
Carrie Prejean is a student at San Diego Christian College, a college which was founded to promote Biblical views in higher education. She is studying to become a special education teacher and spends her spare time volunteering for the Best Buddies non profit organization, a program that helps people with disabilities. She is also a volunteer for the Special Olympics, an international organization created to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment.
The College’s responded to Miss Prejean being the runner-up:
'As a community we congratulate Carrie on this accomplishment,' the school stated in an update of a story on Prejean. 'She is a great example of a student who is seeking to have an impact on the world for Christ.'
CCFON comment: The story of Carrie Prejean is another example of the increasingly intolerant attitude of homosexual activists and their supporters when someone expresses the Christian view on sexual ethics. In the United Kingom, the proposed removal of the protection of the free speech clause from the Sexual Orientation hate offence, contained in Clause 61 of the Coroners and Justice Bill, is in danger of creating a climate of fear surrounding the mere discussion of sexual ethics and traditional marriage. Ordinary people need to know their rights and this Clause is the best way to protect the freedom to express views on sexual ethics.
Media Links
Daily Mail
Daily Telegraph
New American
www.thenewamerican.com/culture/family/1033
MSNBC
CNN Politics
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/22/martin.miss.california/
Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517362,00.html
Fox blog
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/04/21/tantaros_miss_usa_outrageous/
The Age
Citizen Link
http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000009848.cfm
Miami Herald
www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/music/AP/story/1015100.html