Miss California defends gay stance

BY ARJUN RAMACHANDRAN

Last updated 09:51 24/04/2009

Reuters

TOUGH TALK: Miss California Carrie Prejean is standing by her comments about gay marriage.

Relevant offers

A Miss USA contestant says God was testing her character when she was asked her views on gay marriage, and will stand by her answer - that marriage is between a man and a woman - despite being called a "dumb bitch" by the judge who asked her the question.

Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was a favourite to win the crown but said she did not regret stating her views on same-sex marriage, which was deemed to have ruined her chances.

"I wouldn't have answered it differently," she told breakfast TV in the US.

"The way I answered may have been offensive. With that question specifically, it's not about being politically correct. For me it was being biblically correct."

Prejean, 21, was asked the question on Sunday night by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, one of five judges, after earlier completing the swimsuit and evening gown modelling rounds.

Hilton, who is openly gay, asked: "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalise same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?"

"I think it's great Americans are able to choose one or the other," Prejean answered. "We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage.

"And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.

"No offence to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be between a man and a woman."

A storm of controversy was triggered after Hilton reacted furiously.

On a video blog, Hilton described it as "the worst answer in pageant history" and then added: "She lost not because she doesnt believe in gay marriage, she lost because she's a dumb bitch!".

He said had Prejean won, he would have stormed onto the stage and ripped off her tiara.

Prejean said Hilton's comments had upset her, but she had no regrets and had received a lot of support.

"I've gotten over 500 Facebook friend requests, hundreds of messages from people I don't know, saying how proud of me they are that I stood my ground," she told Fox News.

"That made me the real winner of the night."

Prejean eventually lost on the night of the pageant, finishing runner-up to Miss North Carolina.

She said she knew instantly after answering the question that she would not win, "because I had spoken from my heart, from my beliefs and for my God".

Ad Feedback

Hilton said she lost "because it was a bad answer" and that Miss USA ought to be more diplomatic and "inclusive".

Hilton has continued to criticise Prejean and argue in favour of gay marriage on his Twitter account.

"I stand by calling her a dumb bitch, just like she's standing by her words from yesterday too," he wrote.

He also joked: "How long until Miss California gets a job working as an anchor for Fox News? See, I helped her!"

In recent hours, Hilton has also used Twitter to question a range of celebrities about their views on gay marriage, including Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Martha Stewart and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

It's not the first time a US pageant contestant's answer to a question has attracted worldwide headlines.

In 2007, Miss Teen South Carolina - Lauren Caitlin Upton - received international attention for her confused, mangled response to a question about why one-fifth of Americans could not locate the US on a map.

- © Fairfax NZ News