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Miss USA has been rocked by a cheating scandal over claims this year’s pageant was fixed for Miss Texas to win.
R’Bonney Gabriel – the first Asian and Filipina American to win – was crowned the coveted title on Monday night, but she celebrated alone as nearly all the beauty queens stormed off the stage after her crowning.
Ususally, all contestants stay on the stage during and after the crowning to celebrate the young woman’s win.
But others say Gabriel was pre-chosen as the winner. They’ve cited her trip to a plastic surgery spa that offers a key part of the prize nine weeks before the win as evidence.
That clinic uploaded a glossy of Gabriel’s visit hours after her win, sparking suspicion they’d known all along she’d be crowned. None of the other entrants are known to have visited, or been filmed for their own advert should they have won.
Also raising rivals hackles was Gabriel’s closeness to Miss USA director Crystle Stewart. Stewart, a former winner herself, was filmed doing Gabriel’s hair weeks before the win.
Miss Montana, Heather Lee O’Keefe, took to TikTok to outline the cheating claims.
She said: ‘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 a 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. ‘That’s how strongly we feel about believing and standing up for what is right.
‘There is 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.’
Miss Texas R’Bonney Gabriel’s crowning on Monday has caused a huge uproar in the Miss USA pageant as rumors swirled that she was the preselected winner and the contest was rigged
Gabriel was the first the first Asian and Filipina American to win the Miss USA contest
Miss Montana Heather Lee O’Keefe has been vocal about alleged favoritism Miss Texas has reportedly received. She has come forward to say she has nothing against Gabriel
O’Keefe also revealed that the Class of 2021 had filed a lawsuit against the organizers, but did not reveal what it involved.
DailyMail.com has contacted Miss USA for comment.
Among the allegations that have raised the most suspicion are…
Losers broke with convention and stormed off stage moments after R’Bonney Gabriel was crowned, in full view of cameras
The contestants were on stage when Gabriel was crowned by did not stay for long. As the credits rolled, they became leaving the stage. O’Keefe and former Miss USA contestant Jasmine Jones said it was weird and ‘unprecedented’ that the women left the stage
The other contestants can be seen leaving the stage before the Gabriel was finished walking around the stage after the crowning. O’Keefe said the women, including herself, did ‘what we thought was right’ in the moment. Normally, the runners-up stand with fixed grin and clap politely for the victor
Speculation became to swirl when the contestants started leaving the stage as the credits rolled, leaving Gabriel to celebrate all alone.
Normally, the runners-up stand with a forced smile and clap as the credits roll – but there were no such pleasantries at the end of this year’s pageant.
Former Miss USA contestant Jasmine Jones, who has been in pageantry for 10 years, claimed it was ‘obvious’ that the contest was rigged when the women began leaving the stage. In any pageant you’ve ever been in, the production manager tells you you stay on stage until she’s done, you stand there and you clap.
‘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.’
She said it was a ‘big tell-all’ that ‘something was off.’
In an Instagram Live on Wednesday, O’Keefe agreed that early exit was ‘unprecedented’ and had ‘never happened before.’
The beauty queen claimed it was ‘not planned’ and it wasn’t done because of ‘bitter’ feelings.
‘We all just acted, in the moment, what we thought was right,’ she said during the live broadcast on Wednesday. ‘We are a class of Division I athletes, Harvard alumni, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and people who fought for their citizenship to this country.
‘We are the farthest thing from sore losers.’
Both women have come out and said they have 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.
Winner visited plastic surgery clinic that offers part of prize BEFORE final – with center releasing clip showing her visit just hours after she was named winner
Gabriel was seen in a sponsored video from NIZUC spas less than 24 hours after her crowning, appearing to have enjoyed her prize
The spa showed the beauty queen enjoying a relaxing treatment, which O’Keefe claimed happened ‘nine weeks’ prior to the video’s release
In another seemingly suspicious move, O’Keefe pointed out that NIZUC Resort & Spa posted a video of Gabriel enjoying an all-inclusive spa – which is included in her prize – less than 24 hours after the crowning.
O’Keefe claimed it was a clear indication of ‘favoritism’ and that the trip happened ‘nine weeks ago,’ far before the crowning on Monday night.
‘@MissUSA was crowned less than 24 hours ago, yet she already got her sponsored vacation to @NIZUCResort,’ the blonde bombshell 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.’
In another twist of events, one of the judges for the Miss USA pageant was reportedly the founder of MIA Beaute – which is affiliated with NIZUC.
The founder also allegedly posted a photo of Miss Texas on his Instagram story, which swirled the rumor mill even more.
‘Ever since Miss Texas was crowned a couple months ago, she has been shown favoritism by the Miss USA organization through their businesses that are also all owned by the same woman,’ O’Keefe said.
President of tournament has close ties to Gabriel and allegedly did her HAIR weeks before tournament, and helped train Gabriel for the contest
She also shared a photo of Miss USA Director Crystle Stewart (pictured in black) doing Gabriel’s hair before the pageant
In addition, O’Keefe shared a photo of one of the Miss USA organizers Crystle Stewart, doing Gabriel’s hair backstage.
The two appear rather close and comfortable with each other as Gabriel sits in a white, asymmetrical top while Stewart pulls the woman’s hair into a tight ponytail.
Stewart also runs a pageant coaching business called Miss Academy, which Gabriel reportedly attended prior to the crowning, O’Keefe claimed.
Miss Texas was also reportedly the ‘only one’ featured on the official Miss USA page, a move O’Keefe said ‘no other state contestant got.’
‘And then they posted a public apology,’ she said. ‘Y’all don’t tell me you can’t see [favoritism].’
She also claimed that many contestants felt the need to spend their own money on Miss Academy classes to ‘feel like they had a chance.’
‘A lot of girls felt that they needed to work with Miss Academy to feel like they had a chance at doing well at Miss USA,’ she said on the livestream. ‘Which I think is really unfortunate.’
She also called out all the Miss USA organizers who are watching her videos, but continuing to stay silent. ‘Silent is compliance,’ she said. ‘When will y’all speak up?’
Tuition ranges from $2,500 to $1,400, according to O’Keefe, with $500 ‘a la carte’ classes also being offered.
‘It’s a lot of money, [that’s] the point I’m trying to make,’ she said. ‘They really lead us to believe that we needed to go to Miss Academy to take these lessons from them to do well at Miss USA – at least a lot of us were under the impression.
O’Keefe did attend some of the online classes offered through Miss Academy.
Miss Montana also slammed the organizers, sponsors, and judges on her Instagram stories, stating: ‘Lol @ all of the sponsors, judges, staff, etc. watching my stories and videos. I see you. When will y’all speak up?
‘Silence is compliance.’
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