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Miss California still has her crown (for now)

Miss USA runner-up Carrie Prejean, whose public stand against gay marriage and racy pre-pageant photos have made her a lightning rod for controversy, is still Miss California USA for the time being. Though officials named an alternate ambassador, they said the final decision is in the hands of pageant owner Donald Trump.
/ Source: TODAY staff and wire

Officials of the Miss California USA pageant have strongly criticized titleholder Carrie Prejean but say it's not their decision whether she should be stripped of her crown.

Co-executive directors Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler told a Beverly Hills press conference Monday that only Miss USA pageant owner Donald Trump can make that decision. He plans to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday (GMT) in New York City.

The 21-year-old San Diego native created controversy during the Miss USA pageant when she said she believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Shortly thereafter, she signed on to be a spokesperson for the National Organization for Marriage’s campaign against same-sex marriage.

Her views, and the strident reaction to them, came in the midst of heated nationwide debates over same-sex weddings which have recently been legalized in five U.S. states but banned in a California referendum in November.

The state pageant has been investigating whether she violated her contract by making public appearances with groups opposed to same-sex marriage. Keith Lewis said the state pageant has never criticized Prejean for her beliefs, but he added that Miss California USA must represent everyone in the state.

"When you wear the title that says 'I represent everyone,' you can't then polarize the people you represent," said Lewis. "There's no difference between Carrie Prejean and Miss California USA."

He said the last straw came "when she decided she wanted to move forward with media interviews despite the fact that her message was dividing us rather than bringing us back together."

Prejean also failed to reveal that she once posed in her underwear. A photo of the beauty queen, clad only in panties, appeared last week on a gossip blog.

Although Prejean said the pictures were taken when she was 17, others have alleged that they seem to have been taken after she underwent breast-enhancement surgery in 2008. That surgery was paid for by the Miss California pageant.

Co-director and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler said that women entering the pageant are given documents that require full disclosure, but they do not say that any disclosure will make the person ineligible.

"For us, the severity of nudity is not the issue," said Moakler. "The fact that she entered the contest under false pretense is."

The officials said Prejean has been "unavailable" and so in the meantime they have appointed the state pageant's runner-up, Tami Farrell, as a "Beauty of California Ambassador" to fulfill any duties the winner normally would handle. 

Moakler also expressed frustration at being unable to reach Prejean because of her many handlers. "Carrie has been unavailable to us, to her sponsors and to her responsibilities as Miss California USA because of her commitment to outside organizations," she said.

Lewis said that if Trump allows Prejean to retain her crown, state pageant officials would welcome her back and encourage her to take part in her normal duties.