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Former Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin, who resigned after claiming to the world that the Miss USA pageant is rigged, must now pay Donald Trump $5 million for defaming the organization he co-owns.
Sheena Monnin was a contestant in the Miss USA 2012 pageant before she appeared on national television claiming the beauty pageant organization chooses its winners ahead of time.
Donald Trump subsequently sued Sheena Monnin. An arbitrator then ruled in favor of the Miss Universe Organization, awarding it $5 million in damages and stated Sheena Monnin’s statements “showed a reckless disregard”. This week, a judge affirmed that decision.
“On July 2nd, the Southern District Court of New York ruled on my appeal of the $5 million arbitration award,” Sheena Monnin wrote in a July 4 post on a Facebook page billed as the Sheena Monnin Support Page.
“I am grateful to Judge Oetken for his review of the case before affirming the award.”
Judge J. Paul Oetken, in his 30-page ruling, wrote “the Court does not take lightly that Monnin is compelled to pay what is a devastating monetary award”.
However, J. Paul Oetken wrote: “Sympathy, or apparent inequity, may play no role in a court’s legal analysis.”
Now Sheena Monnin must pony up the cash after her earlier struggles just to come up with $50,000 in legal fees.
“The legal fees for standing for truth amount to over $50,000,” writes Sheena Monnin on her Facebook page.
Former Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin, who defamed Miss USA pageant, was ordered to pay Donald Trump $5 million
“I still need to raise money for my legal defense fund. I would greatly appreciate any and all donations.”
Her economic woes all stem from a few statements originally made on Facebook and then the Today show.
Sheena Monnin accused Miss Universe Organization of rigging the competition when she resigned from her Miss Pennsylvania position.
She claimed Karina Brez, who was representing Florida at the contest in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 3, recited the top five women after seeing a list of their names backstage.
In a Facebook post announcing her resignation, she wrote: “Apparently the morning of June 3rd [Karina Brez] saw a folder lying open to a page that said ‘FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012” and she saw the places for Top 5 already filled in.
“After the Top 16 were called and we were standing backstage she hesitantly said to me and another contestant that she knew who the Top 5 were. I said <<who do you think they will be?>>.”
She said that she didn’t “think” she “knew” because she saw the list that morning.
“She relayed whose names were on the list. Then we agreed to wait and see if that was indeed the Top 5 called that night. After it was indeed the Top 5 I knew the show must be rigged.”
Miss Universe Organization vehemently denied the claims and said that Sheena Monnin had cited the new rules allowing transgender contestants as her reason for resigning.
Donald Trump also denied the claims and proceeded with the lawsuit against Sheena Monnin, who he believed was suffering “loser’s remorse”.
“I did see her for about a second. I never felt that she had a chance,” he told the Today last year.
“I know what I heard, and I know what I in turn witnessed… so I’m prepared to continue to march forward,” Sheena Monnin responded on Today.
“I feel an injustice has been done, not only to the other people who were not in the top five, but to the thousands of pageant girls across the country who competed, believing this is an honest system.”
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Former Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin, who resigned after alleging that the Miss USA contest had been fixed, says she is stunned by a ruling that she must pay the pageant organization $5 million for defamation.
Sheena Monnin said that the “most logical course” would be to contest the arbitrator’s ruling but she is considering her options.
Arbitrator Theodore Katz says Sheena Monnin’s allegations that finalists had been selected in advance were false, harmful and malicious and cost the pageant, owned by billionaire Donald Trump, a $5 million fee from a potential 2013 sponsor.
Sheena Monnin points to a Miss USA contract clause giving top pageant officials the power to pick the top five finalists and the winner, but a company official calls that a catch-all that’s never been used.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump was victorious in a lawsuit he filed against Sheena Monnin, who called the Miss USA pageant “fixed” and “trashy” after she failed to make the semifinals of the beauty contest this summer.
The eventual winner of Miss USA, Olivia Culpo, beat 88 other beauty queens on December 20 to take the Miss Universe title from Leila Lopes of Angola at the Planet Hollywood casino in Las Vegas.
Donald Trump, co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, sued Sheena Monnin for defamation after she alleged in June that a fellow contestant in the competition had seen a list of the top five winners before the finalists were named on stage.
A U.S. District Court Magistrate ruled in favor of the Miss Universe Organization, awarding it $5 million in damages and stated Sheena Monnin’s statements “showed a reckless disregard”.
Sheena Monnin accused Miss Universe Organization of rigging the competition when she resigned from her position in mid June.
She claimed Karina Brez, who was representing Florida at the contest in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 3, recited the top five women after seeing a list of their names backstage.
In a Facebook post announcing her resignation, Sheena Monnin wrote: “Apparently the morning of June 3rd [Karina Brez] saw a folder lying open to a page that said <<FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012>> and she saw the places for Top 5 already filled in.
“After the Top 16 were called and we were standing backstage she hesitantly said to me and another contestant that she knew who the Top 5 were. I said ‘who do you think they will be?”
She said that she didn’t “think” she “knew” because she saw the list that morning.
“She relayed whose names were on the list. Then we agreed to wait and see if that was indeed the Top 5 called that night. After it was indeed the Top 5 I knew the show must be rigged.”
Former Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin, who resigned after alleging that the Miss USA contest had been fixed, says she is stunned by a ruling that she must pay the pageant organization $5 million for defamation
Miss Universe Organization vehemently denied the claims and said that Sheena Monnin had cited the new rules allowing transgender contestants as her reason for resigning.
Donald Trump also denied the claims and proceeded with the lawsuit against Sheena Monnin, who he believed was suffering “loser’s remorse”.
“I did see her for about a second. I never felt that she had a chance,” Donald Trump told the Today show over the summer.
“I know what I heard, and I know what I in turn witnessed… so I’m prepared to continue to march forward,” Sheena Monnin responded on Today.
“I feel an injustice has been done, not only to the other people who were not in the top five, but to the thousands of pageant girls across the country who competed, believing this is an honest system.”
But Karina Brez has also come forward to deny she made the claims seriously.
“Backstage during the pageant, I did see a piece of paper with names on it and like most people in such frenetic circumstances, joked that they must be the names of the final contestants,” she said.
“It was a throwaway comment, in the stress of the pageant, and was never meant as fact. The list I saw didn’t even have the eventual winner on it.”
Sheena Monnin told Today she believes Karina Brez changed her story out of fear.
“She looked a little bit scared because she had just seen something that would potentially, drastically change the reputation of the Miss Universe Organization,” she said.
“This is a big deal.”
The latest accuser, who was not identified, said Karina Brez had appeared “very, very flustered and upset” as the top 15 girls were announced.
“I thought it might be because she didn’t make the top 15 cut, but at that point she was able to reveal to me at least four of the five names who went on to be the top girls,” the contestant told FOX News.
“She couldn’t remember the fifth because she was so upset. Several of the girls then started hearing through the grapevine about a list; a lot of people were upset.”
“A lot of the girls now are very upset about how Pennsylvania is being treated and aggressively attacked by an organization that claims to empower women,” Sheena Monnin said.
The top 15 girls are decided by preliminary judging in the days before the broadcast, and fan voting determines the 16th. The top ten, top five and winner are decided in the live show, a rep said.
The scores for the competition are believed to be entered into a computer system as the show is live. These results are monitored and verified by Ernst & Young.
“In accordance with the rules of the competition, Ernst & Young’s tabulation of the judges’ votes which determined the final five contestants did not occur until after the evening gown competition had been completed,” a representative said.
Judge Joe Jonas tweeted after the accusations: “All I can say… Is the Miss USA competition was NOT rigged. Miss [Rhode Island] USA won fair and square.”
The pageant named Olivia Culpo, a 20-year-old cellist, the winner after she made it clear that she embraced all beauty queens – transgender or otherwise – during the interview portion.
In the dreaded final question round, Olivia Culpo was faced with the most difficult question of the night: “Would it be fair for a person born a man to be named Miss Universe after becoming a woman?”
Olivia Culpo never stumbled as she embraced the Miss Universe Organization’s recent decision to admit transgender contestants.
“I do think that would be fair,” she said.
“But I could understand how people could be apprehensive to take that road.”
It is an opinion that Sheena Monnin does not share. In her resignation email, she wrote: “I refuse to be part of a pageant system that has so far and so completely removed itself from its foundational principles as to allow and support natural born males to compete in it.
“This goes against ever moral fiber of my being. I believe in integrity, high moral character, and fair play, none of which are part of this system any longer.”
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Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin has said she stands by her accusations that the Miss USA 2012 competition was rigged and will take on Donald Trump if he sues her, as he has claimed.
Earlier this week, Sheena Monnin resigned from her position claiming one of her fellow contestants – later revealed as Miss Florida – had seen a list of the top five girls before the show had even begun.
Sheena Monnin branded the competition “fraudulent”, “trashy” and “lacking in morals”, which led Donald Trump, the co-owner of Miss Universe Organization, to threaten her with a lawsuit.
But speaking to the Today show, Sheena Monnin said she is standing by her claims and knows Miss Florida was serious as she has had “years of psychological training”.
Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin has said she stands by her accusations that the Miss USA 2012 competition was rigged and will take on Donald Trump if he sues her
“I feel disappointed that [Trump] has made some of the statements that he said about me, and I feel prepared to continue to pursue the truth,” Sheena Monnin said on the Today show.
“I know what I heard, and I know what I in turn witnessed… so I’m prepared to continue to march forward.”
Florida’s Karina Brez has since said mentioning the list was “a throwaway comment” that was “never meant as fact”, but Sheena Monnin rubbished this defense.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the contestant was serious when she laid out what she said she saw, and I believe her to be true,” Sheena Monnin, who hold a master’s degree in psychology, said.
“I have many years of psychological training. I know when someone’s telling a joke, I know when someone’s scared and when someone’s serious, and in my opinion her body language was very serious.
“She looked a little bit scared because she had just seen something that would potentially, drastically change the reputation of the Miss Universe Organization. This is a big deal.”
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that her claims were a case of sour grapes, adding: “I did see her for about a second. I never felt that she had a chance, and all this is buyer’s remorse.”
He added that an investigation into Sheena Monnin’s “disgraceful” claims has been carried out, and there is no evidence that there was a list of the five top girls before the show.
In her Facebook posts, Sheena Monnin, who had not placed in the top 16, had claimed Miss Florida went on to name all five women correctly before they were announced on the show.
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Sheena Monnin, this year Miss Pennsylvania, has sensationally resigned from her position, claiming that the weekend’s Miss USA 2012 pageant was rigged.
Announcing the resignation on her Facebook account, Sheena Monnin claimed one of her fellow contestants had seen a list of the competition’s top five girls – before the show had even begun.
The unidentified contestant went on to name all five women correctly before they were announced, Sheena Monnin, 27, said in the posting.
But Miss Universe Organization has refuted the claims, saying that in a resignation email, Sheena Monnin said she was quitting as she was against new rules allowing transgender contestants to take part.
Sheena Monnin added on her post that the Miss Universe Organization, which oversees the pageant, is “fraudulent, lacking in morals, inconsistent, and in many ways trashy”.
Sheena Monnin, from Cranberry Township, won her title in December 2011. She did not place in the top 16 contestants on Sunday, leading some to brand her remarks as the mutterings of a “bad loser”.
But 12 hours after her first Facebook post, Sheena Monnin insisted her claims were correct and gave further insight into what sparked her decision.
“I witnessed another contestant who said she saw the list of the Top 5 BEFORE THE SHOW EVER STARTED proceed to call out in order who the Top 5 were before they were announced on stage,” she said.
The contestant told Sheena Monnin she had seen a folder lying open with a page reading: “FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012” on the morning of the show – along with the “top five” filled in.
After the 51 contestants were whittled down to 16, the woman told Sheena Monnin and another contestant what she had seen.
Sheena Monnin went on: “I said <<who do you think they will be?>>. She said that she didn’t <<think>> she <<knew>> because she saw the list that morning. She relayed whose names were on the list.”
The field was then narrowed further as the contestants went through the swimswuit, evening gown and interview rounds, with eventually the final five named.
She went on: “After it was indeed the Top 5 I knew the show must be rigged; I decided to distance myself from an organization who did not allow fair play and whose morals did not match my own.”
After Miss Georgia, Miss Rhode Island, Miss Nevada, Miss Ohio and Miss Maryland completed the Q&A round, Olivia Culpo from Rhode Island was crowned the winner.
Miss Universe Organization, which is co-owned by NBC and Donald Trump, confirmed Sheena Monnin had resigned – but gave very different reasons.
“In an email to state pageant organizers, she cited the Miss Universe Organizations’ policy regarding transgendered contestants, implemented two months ago, as the reason for her resignation,” the statement said.
“Today she has changed her story by publicly making false accusations claiming that the pageant was fixed, however the contestant she privately sourced as her reference has vehemently refuted her most recent claim.”
The statement went on: “We are disappointed that she would attempt to steal the spotlight form Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island on her well-deserved Miss USA win.”
Sheena Monnin, this year Miss Pennsylvania, has sensationally resigned from her position, claiming that the weekend's Miss USA 2012 pageant was rigged
In the email written on Monday by Miss Universe Organization, Sheena Monnin wrote that she was resigning.
She said: “I refuse to be part of a pageant system that has so far and so completely removed itself from its foundational principles as to allow and support natural born males to compete in it.
“This goes against ever moral fiber of my being. I believe in integrity, high moral character, and fair play, none of which are part of this system any longer.”
These sentiments echo her first Facebook post – before she qualified her story.
It is not the first time a Miss USA contestant has raised eyebrows with her prejudiced views. In 2009, Carrie Prejean, representing California, was asked if she believed every state should legalize same-sex marriage.
Carrie Prejean responded: “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman.”
After Sheena Monnin posted the claims on Facebook, fans and friends commended her resignation, congratulating her for “taking the high road” and thanking her for telling the truth.
But she was also labeled a bad loser by others, including Miss USA 2010 winner Rima Fakih.
“To Miss Pennsylvania 2012,” Rima Fakih wrote on Twitter.
“So you didn’t win or place in Miss USA last night but don’t you dare disrespect my organization! Maybe that’s y u lost.”
The pageant named Olivia Culpo, a 20-year-old cellist, the winner after she made it clear that she embraced all beauty queens – transgender or otherwise – during the interview portion.
In the dreaded final question round, Olivia Culpo was faced with the most difficult question of the night: Would it be fair for a person born a man to be named Miss Universe after becoming a woman?
Olivia Culpo never stumbled as she embraced the Miss Universe Organization’s recent decision to admit transgender contestants.
“I do think that would be fair,” she said.
“But I could understand how people could be apprehensive to take that road.”
Miss Iowa USA Rebecca Hodge was named Miss Congeniality, and Miss Oregon USA Alaina Bergsma was named the most photogenic. They both won $1,000, but didn’t make the top 16.
Miss USA 2011 Alyssa Campanella crowned her successor at the end of the night.
Olivia Culpo will represent the United States at the 61st Miss Universe pageant later this year. An American has not been named Miss Universe since Brook Lee won the title in 1997.
THE ORGANISATION LACKS MORALS: MISS PENNSYLVANIA’S CLAIMS
On her Facebook page, Sheena Monnin wrote:
“I have decided to resign my position as Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012. Effective immediately I have voluntarily, completely, and utterly removed myself from the Miss Universe Organization.
“In good conscience I can no longer be affiliated in any way with an organization I consider to be fraudulent, lacking in morals, inconsistent, and in many ways trashy. I do not support this system in any way. In my heart I believe in honesty, fair play, a fair opportunity, and high moral integrity, none of which in my opinion are part of this pageant system any longer.
“Thank you all for your support and understanding as I walk a road I never dreamed I’d need to walk, as I take a stand I never dreamed I’d need to take.
“After 10 years of competing in a pageant system I once believed in, I now completely and irrevocably separate myself in every way and on every level from the Miss Universe Organization. I remove my support completely and have turned in the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012.”
Sheena Monnin later qualified her remarks by adding:
“Many people have sent me messages requesting and at times demanding that I come forward if I know information that has led to my abrupt and surprising resignation.
“I agree that it is my moral obligation to state what I witnessed and what I know to be true. I will relay to you the reasoning behind my resignation.
“I witnessed another contestant who said she saw the list of the Top 5 BEFORE THE SHOW EVER STARTED proceed to call out in order who the Top 5 were before they were announced on stage.
“Apparently the morning of June 3rd she saw a folder lying open to a page that said <<FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012>> and she saw the places for Top 5 already filled in. Thinking she was just seeing a rehearsal fake top 5 from a previous day she walked away, then realized that it had without a doubt been labeled as the Final Show Telecast, June 3rd.
“After the Top 16 were called and we were standing backstage she hesitantly said to me and another contestant that she knew who the Top 5 were. I said <<who do you think they will be?>>. She said that she didn’t <<think>> she <<knew>> because she saw the list that morning. She relayed whose names were on the list. Then we agreed to wait and see if that was indeed the Top 5 called that night.
“After it was indeed the Top 5 I knew the show must be rigged; I decided at that moment to distance myself from an organization who did not allow fair play and whose morals did not match my own.
“That is all I know about this. If this contestant would like to step forward as an eye witness and as being the one who saw the sheet with the Top 5 already selected before the judges ever saw the Top 16, then perhaps action can be taken. As for me, I believe her words and I will not encourage anyone to compete in a system that in my opinion and from what I witnessed is dishonest.”
Sheena Monnin’s email, according to Miss Universe Organization:
“I am officially and irrevocably resigning the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012. I refuse to be part of a pageant system that has so far and so completely removed itself from its foundational principles as to allow and support natural born males to compete in it.
“This goes against ever moral fiber of my being. I believe in integrity, high moral character, and fair play, none of which are part of this system any longer.
“I hereby return the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012.”
