Former Miss USA contestant says ousted president had ‘something to hide’ after 2022 rigging allegations
nypost.comaccused of preselecting then-Miss Texas R’Bonney Gabriel — who went on to win Miss Universe — as the 2022 winner. The allegations would eventually cause Miss Universe — which owns Miss USA — to kick Stewart out of her role.After the parent organization cut ties with Stewart and her pageant training company Miss Brand, it announced it would conduct a third-party investigation through the Holland & Knight law firm.
The only finding that came forth from the months-long deep dive in which O’Keefe spent four hours talking to investigators was that the pageant was “not rigged.” However, contestants never received a copy of what the firm discovered outside of that, nor did it answer the favoritism complaints against Gabriel.
Several contestants, including Miss DC Faith Porter and O’Keefe, had heard rumors prior to the competition that Gabriel would take the coveted crown. “Of course, being in the industry, you hear the rumors going around that: ‘Oh, Texas is a favorite, R’Bonney is the favorite for Texas, and she’s the favorite for Miss USA.’ Before she even won Texas there was chatter about it,” O’Keefe recalled.
Porter heard similar things, telling filmmakers: “My whole family came and they were telling me: ‘So-and-so said, you know, apparently it’s going to go to Texas.’ I remember saying: ‘Everyone really likes her in the staff, but I don’t know if they would crown her because the directors are going to riot.'” State directors did call a meeting with Stewart about Gabriel on Sept.
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