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R'Bonney Gabriel was crowned Miss USA on October 3, 2022. However, some contestants have since claimed that the former Miss Texas USA had an unfair advantage during the competition.
Miss Montana Heather Lee O'Keefe stated that she had a conversation with other competitors who felt:
"There was favoritism towards Miss Texas USA and we have the receipts to prove it."
Addressing this statement, the new Miss USA said that she would never participate in a competition that was rigged. She further added:
"I have a lot of integrity."
Miss New York Heather Nunez said that she was humiliated by the results. R’Bonney said in an interview with The Rundown that she was open to "talk about it to her." She further added:
"I would love to communicate with her because I think there's a lot of allegations that are coming up that aren't true, and people are leading to conclusions that just simply aren't true."
The 71st Miss USA said that she wants to be transparent about the whole ordeal and wants:
"Everybody to know that there was no unfair advantage and nothing was rigged."
She denied the claims that a sponsor flew her to a Cancun resort, giving her better treatment than other girls. There was also a picture of R’Bonney with Miss USA president Crystle Stewart circulating online.
She had to clear her name for the same and clarify that the picture was taken after she won the crown. The new Miss USA added:
"Unfortunately, it looks like that happened maybe before I won, but that was my official Miss USA headshot photo shoot after I won."
Despite all the allegations, R'Bonney Gabriel said that she was looking forward to being an advocate for love and was very thankful for her win.
The Miss USA crowning issue explored
Right after R'Bonney Gabriel was crowned, the other titleholders got off the stage without huddling around her, which is the norm in any pageantry competition. The morning after the competition, R’Bonney was seen in a pre-recorded advertisement video for a hotel.
The issue was that all the other contestants visited the hotel in June when Miss Texas was still not crowned, implying that the organizers had flown her separately for the video. The opportunity was not provided to Miss Colorado Alexis Glover, who was also uncrowned at the time.
Miss New York Heather Nunez has claimed that even the judges had their favorites and that R’Bonney shares a sponsor for the Miss Texas competition with a Miss USA sponsor. Contestants also believe that R'Bonney received support from The Miss Academy, a pageant training school founded by Miss USA pageant president Crystle Stewart.
While many other state crown winners were a part of their team, only the new Miss USA was featured on their page, even before she won the competition, implying that others knew that she would be crowned with the title.
What did the other pageant participants say about the alleged rigged competition?
Many state crown holders were upset at the USA pageant holders. Miss Alabama Katelyn Vinson wrote on her Instagram story:
"It's crushing and heartbreaking to have worked so hard towards a goal only to realize you never stood a chance."
Miss New York Heather also shared her disappointment in her Instagram story, saying that she felt humiliated to believe that she had a fair chance at the pageant.
She said that the contestants' mental health was "on the back burner" and claimed that even the judges were "totally checked out."
Heather has also shared some anonymous messages from her Miss USA group chat. One of them read:
"What are we saying to the little girls at home that are watching this? That they might not be good enough because they aren't the prettiest girl."
Another shared how their dream of eight years was shattered because all that was celebrated was surface-level things. O'Keefe pinpointed the new advertisement and said:
"Are you kidding me? I was giving y'all the benefit of the doubt, but this is just embarrassing at this point."
Jasmine Jones said that something was off about the crowning moment. Heather later clarified that she and the other girls had nothing against R'Bonney Gabriel but were upset with the pageant organization.
Right now, all the title holders are planning a town hall meeting with the Miss Universe Organization president to address the issue.
