The former Miss California USA & Knowing Your Contract

Ok, so I am getting really tired of people who don’t know what’s going on standing behind Carrie Prejean just because they think that she was fired because of her answer.

First of all, just to reiterate, one of the reasons she lost was that she didn’t even answer the question that was asked of her, NOT because of her opinion.  The question did NOT ask for her opinion of gay marriage.  She was asked, Vermont is the fourth state to legalize gay marriage, do you feel that others should do the same?  A very simple answer that would’ve actually answered the question would’ve been: While I do not agree with it, we live in a country where we can allow the people to decide through a vote.  This way she could’ve still stated that she does not agree with same sex marriage, but that it’s not up to her, if she insisted that her opinion needed to be part of the answer.

Now, to put that aside, if you think as a titleholder that you get to call the shots on appearances, pay, etc than you do not belong in pageantry.  You are representing your director’s business, which means they are your boss.  You would not see the spokesmodel for Revlon, Cosmo, etc trying to tell their boss what they will and won’t do.

Part of being a titleholder is helping to get the word out about the pageant, NOT just service to your community.  Your director also SHOULD be keeping a % of anything that anyone pays for your presence as a result of being their titleholder.  Your director is your AGENT for the year (or longer, depending on your individual contract), as such they tell you where to be, when to be there, how to be dressed and whether or not you will make a penny.  Your director does not have to give you a penny from an appearance fee, but most will because they know you have expenses to be there and that your time is valuable.

Please know that I am not bashing anyone, facts are facts and they have certainly been presented by the Miss California Organization, right down to the email correspondence between Miss Prejean and the Executive Director.  If the tone of those emails has been the tone since she was crowned, then I know many directors who would have given her the boot within a month of being crowned and not looked back.  If you are not willing to do what your director tells you, then do NOT compete.  It’s as simple as that.

If Miss Prejean had been allowed to keep her title despite disrespecting her directors in such manners and not fulfilling her contractual obligations as Miss California USA then it would have opened it up for every other titleholder to be able to do the same.  You are a role model as a titleholder, and respect is a huge part of being a role model both by respecting others and giving reason to be respected.

Now, please let’s allow Miss Kristen Dalton to have her time in the spotlight as our new Miss USA!

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