She was fired for her stand against same-sex marriage and nothing else, former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean said Friday, adding that allegations that she did not discharge her duties are false.
“I’m here talking to you because of the answer I gave on that stage,” Prejean told TODAY’s Matt Lauer Friday from San Diego. “It’s a test to Americans’ tolerance. It needs to be a two-way street and it’s not. This is about me stating my beliefs about same-sex marriage, and that’s the reason why we’re here today.”
Prejean appeared on TODAY one day after Keith Lewis, the executive director of the Miss California pageant, told Lauer that Prejean’s controversial answer to a question about same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant had nothing to do with the pageant’s decision to fire her. Instead, he said, it was because Prejean was combative and uncooperative and missed “tens and tens and tens” of appearances he asked her to make as Miss California.
‘Hidden agenda’
Donald Trump, the co-owner of the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants, had stepped in to save Prejean’s job last month, defending her right to state her beliefs and dismissing seminude photos she posed for as not sufficient cause for her to lose her job. But on Wednesday, Trump supported Lewis’ decision to fire Prejean, saying she did not fulfill her obligations as Miss California.
Lauer asked Prejean why Trump would have taken Lewis’ side this time.
“That’s a good question,” the 21-year-old beauty queen replied. “I think Donald Trump was really tired of being in the middle. I had to call him and ask him, ‘Hey, can I volunteer for the Special Olympics this weekend?’ ‘Hey, can I go visit the troops on the USS Ronald Reagan?’ Everything I had brought to Mr. Lewis’ attention of appearances I wanted to make, he declined. This is definitely a one-way street here.”
She accused Lewis of inventing an excuse to fire her. “Keith Lewis, he has his own hidden agenda. He has his own personal agenda. He obviously doesn’t agree with the beliefs that I have. Therefore, I am here today dethroned as Miss California because of that,” she said.
Lewis had not given specific examples of appearances she had missed as Miss California, and Prejean said that’s because there weren’t any.
“Not many people are going to believe this, but I maybe did two appearances Mr. Lewis asked me to do. He said, ‘Carrie, your job is to compete and win Miss USA. It’s not about appearances. It’s about you winning Miss USA.’ ”
War of wordsThe California pageant went all out to help her win that title, paying for breast implants she got to improve her appearance. She finished second in the Miss USA pageant after giving her now-famous answer to a question about same-sex marriage from judge Perez Hilton, the openly gay celebrity blogger.
The answer touched off a war of words with Hilton, and was followed by the revelations that Prejean had had the breast implants and had posed at least twice for seminude photo shoots.
An evangelical Christian, Prejean became a hero at her San Diego megachurch, as well as a spokeswoman for the National Organization for Marriage, a group that promotes traditional marriage.
She said most of the appearances she made as Miss California she arranged herself. “I took it upon my own and I called hospitals and I called Special Olympics, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m Miss California. Would you like me to attend your event?’ ” she told Lauer.
“It is a setup,” she said of the way she was fired. “It is a setup. All of a sudden, I’m missing appearances.”
E-mail exchangeOn Thursday, Lewis released a number of e-mails he had traded with Prejean to support his contention that she was combative and difficult to work with.
In one e-mail, Prejean complained that Lewis was filtering the requests he got for appearances by her:
“I expect you to be forwarding me ALL email requests and interview requests to me. I know how you are and its not right if you are selecting things for me. Thanks for your cooperation And fyi I am a presenter of medals at the special olympics in a few weeks for the summer games. So now u know I am doing this and I expect your full support. Also I was asked to fill in for a dj on a local radio show.. Ill be reading from a show biz script monday. I am doing this”
After that message, Lewis forwarded to her an offer from Playboy magazine for her to pose seminude. The full text is as follows:
From: "Keith Lewis"
Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 07:17:14 -0700
To: Carrie Prejean [xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Subject: Offers
Carrie,
I have two offers that have come in that I need to get answers on in writing for our file. Please respond as soon as possible on the second one. I have already declined the first but want the answer in writing.
Thanks
Keith
1) I am a Celebrity….Get me out of here - 3 week shoot schedule, final offer, $70,000 for a full week and $140,000 for three weeks - each celebrity is raising money for their favorite charity and lions share goes to the winner. It airs live on NBC 4 nights a week.
2) Playboy - they want to stress that this is not an open offer but would need to take place soon, partial nudity, pick the photographer, input on choosing the final photos $120,000
The e-mail Lewis said Prejean sent back to him expressed outrage:From: Carrie Prejean [xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx]Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 9:27 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: OffersWhy would you even run it past me keith??? that is totally unprofessional of you! ITS PLAYBOY!!!!!!!!! of course I would NOT do that! is that a set up to get me dethroned? that is not right and you know it.Lewis said that he replied as follows:I agree with your decision. I will always entertain your input though when we get requests. That is the professional thing to do. Prejean had fired the first salvos in her defense during a radio interview with Billy Bush of “Access Hollywood.” Bush was the one who informed her that she had been fired. Lewis said he had passed that news on to Prejean’s attorney and it was his responsibility to tell her. She said neither Lewis nor Trump has called to tell her why she was fired.“I would love to get a call from my boss, if you will, and say that I’m fired. I have not even received a phone call from Mr. Lewis,” she told Lauer. “I think this is just ridiculous.”