Donald Trump Accused of Fixing Miss Universe Pageant

By PopEater Staff Posted Sep 2nd 2009 11:28AM

So how much of the glitz and glamour of the Miss Universe pageant is real? Not much, says Michael Schwandt, a choreographer of the last four pageants. In a recent interview, he scrutinized the competition and revealed Donald Trump is allegedly fixing the competitions. According to Schwandt, Trump decides who will make it to the final six -- after a private meeting with all the women.

"At all the shows, he pops in the day before the telecast ,and we line up all the girls in alphabetical order... he basically walks by and has an assistant that takes notes. And it's just kind of common knowledge that he picks six of the top 15 single-handedly," Schwandt told Guanabee.com (via Defamer.)

"It's kind of a surreal experience, actually. We all just kind of try to sit there... and everyone's trying to make it go smoothly. It's kind of the last thing anybody wants to do but we have to do it," he added.

"The other nine are judged in a preliminary show the week before and picked by those judges, but he picks six of the top fifteen," Schwandt said.

In the official Miss Universe rules, they fail to note the private judging round and its impact on the race. Apparently, Trump didn't like how others judged the women in previous competitions, so he took matters into his own hands.

"His reason for doing so, as he told me and he's told the girls before, is that he left it all up to preliminary judging in the past and some of the most beautiful women, in his opinion, were not in the top fifteen and he was kind of upset about that. And he decided that he would pick a certain number and let the judges pick a certain number," Schwandt said.

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Miss Universe Photos

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, poses at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. See more photos from the Miss Universe 2009 competition >>

Miss Universe 2009

NEW YORK - AUGUST 31: Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza looks on as Venus Williams of the United States plays against Vera Dushevina of Russia during day one of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2009 in Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dayana Mendoza

Getty Images

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, poses at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, smiles during an interview with The Associated Press in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, shows the dress she wore during the contest in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, poses for photographers in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, waves during an interview in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, gestures during an interview with The Associated Press in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, poses for a photo at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, of Venezuela, gets make up on her chin before an interview in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Venezuela won the 2009 Miss Universe crown for the second year straight and the sixth time since the pageant's creation. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Tags: donald trump, DonaldTrump, miss universe pageant, MissUniversePageant

Comments

(123)

Thursday 03 September

By delacourte

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What a sad piece of trailer trash you are! What the hell does Whitney Houston have to do with this? You pathetic, racist sister humping redneck!

By kchevypu2004

The man who SHOULD not pick who will be top 6! Probably the only ones that didn't puke when seeing him close up.He would still be dateless if it weren't for daddy's money!

By Lita

I am shocked, do you hear me? Shocked! The great Donald Trump interfering with (fixing, if you will) a beauty contest. Hard to believe someone so reserved, so low key, might manipulate things to get the outcome he desired. Who could have seen this coming?

By JOANNA

I cannot stand this guy.

Trump is an egotistical control freak, so this does not surprise me at all.
...besides, nothing is legit anymore, so why would this be different?

By notworking

I never have had any respect for Trump; I still don't. He is a man who derives his self confidence from his visuals on television; it really bothers me that he might try to FIX a pageant. Is he convinced that he is God? Heaven help us all! He's really a moron.

By Bart

Its a stupid show. The contests look like a piece of plastic. Look at Trumps wife. Hate to see young woman and girs thinking they should be like these woman.

By harmony143

Miss Dominican Republic got robbed, she scored way higher than the winner in all catagories and got runner up..doesnt make any sense..definitley fixed!!

By Kelly

For Donald, Miss Universe is a business. The winner is always from a country with whom Donald has a business deal. Someone he's working with wants their girl to win for their country. (Sorry girls, it's all about the deal.) Seriously, check it out. Trace the trail from the girl that won to a deal Donald is working or has worked. Also, check the friends and relatives to follow back to a person in a company Donald has a deal. If you watched the pagent and followed the scores and based on the way the scores have been going all night there is clearly a girl that is head and shoulders above the others. Then suddenly someone that could not have won by the scores suddenly wins the crown (like Tara Connor for Miss USA). Take this year, Miss Venezuela was running in 4th place based on the scores but somehow she won. Miss Dominican Republic should have won based on the scores because she was running far above in the final average score up until the final question. Since the 2000 pageant Donald has been doing deals for the crown. Before 2000 he was not "fixing the pageant". Go back and watch the old pageants and watch the scoring. You will see the truth is exactly as I said above. It's television and it's a business. It's sad the right girl who had earned the title doesn't get to win.

By JLS

Kelly, those are very big and vague accusations. Please provide facts to back that up.

By Captain Save a Hoe

Since no body has the balls to say I will say it for you. If you're telling me that this Venezuelian chick is way better looking than lasts year you're a fool because shes not. And you're going to tell me that ever since she placed that red lipstick made everybody's D*&K Hard and women P*&sy get all wet for this chik?? Wake Up people Chavez Paid to have another girl from Venezuela stay HELLO wake up all of you morons!

Thats some serious money influence. At least if Ms. Australia or Ms. Dominican Republic would have won then you have to say okay, thats fair...but it wasnt holla at ya boy....

By Paul V

Pay attention to the photos you attach, people.

Somehow, I don't think Miss Kentucky and Miss Utah can be in the Miss UNIVERSE pageant.

Aside from that, the same country winning Miss Universe two years in a row reaks of FIX.

By Dcaren

I would just like to point out that the top ten at Miss Universe were not "white" women, but were African America, Caucasian, etc., but predominantly Latino....so I hardly think the Miss Universe Pageant is racist.

By coolbreeze

keep up the good work dude, satan is proud of you.

By Gary W.

Joy and Betty..Nice post...lol....

By ConcernedConsumer

Soylent Green is People

By jjgg5

Donald Trump might be crooked? Oh, no.

By luis smith

Tr ump is another old pervert his ex is european that's WHY he always choose a european all six of them NO DOUBT HE HAS MILLIONS BUT IF IT'S TRUE ANOTHER SEXUALLY PREOOCCUPIED OLD HAD WHO CAN'T EVEN SPEND MONEY TO HAVE A HAIR TRANSPLANT, HE'S NOT GOOD LOOKING AND WOMEN ARE JUST AFTER HIS MONEY . HE'S A N OLD DIRTY ......?

By ROGER

darn right all 11of the seminalist got very low scores on swimsuit and dozens of them are much prettier than the girls he supposedly chose they're all european and not even one black or asian. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME FOR THIS WOMENS WHO CHOSE TO BE THERE.. ATTENTION ALL ASIANS AND BLACK CANDIDATES. DO'NT SEND ANY REP. TO MISS UNIVERSE IT'S RIG ,BOGUS... MISS AUSTRALIA OR MISS DR,PR AND KOSOVO SHLD BE MISS UNIVERSE VENEZUELA WAS FITH ON THE PREL. AND HER FINAL ANSWER WAS NOT EVEN OUTSTANDING AUSTRALIA AND PUERTO RICO HAS BETTER ANSWER AND ENDING UP LOSING. WELL, DAYANA STAYS IN TRUMP HOTEL WE DO'NT KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE... JUDGES SHLD BE ASHAMED .. NO SELF RESPECT TRUMP BOUGHT THEM TO SHUT THEIR MOUTH MILLIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD ALREADY SUSPECTED IT WAS FIX . NOW THE TRUTH WILL PREVAIL . ENOUGH W/ THIS TRUMP. BS AND SEXUAL PREOCCUPATION W EUROPEAN . HE'S TOO OLD AND BALD....USELESS BEAUTY CONTEST . MISS INTERNATIONAL, MISS EARTH HAS MORE CREDIBILITY THAN MISS WORLD OR UNIVERSE TRUMP AND MISS WORLD ORG OWNER BY THE WAY WAS GOOD FRIENDS...DISGUSTED.

By kim

He owns it. He runs it. This ain't really nothing new.

By rochemat

I find the posting by Michael Schwandt, the choreographer to be very interesting. These "backstage" guys get sucked in by these reporters, who usually catch them at stressful moments to get comments. I'm sure that Michael was instructed to write this sort of "retraction" of his comments. It would be no surprise to me if "the Donald" rigged this thing. Most beauty pageants are "rigged" to some extent. Hell, most talent competitions or anything that requires subjective thinking is rigged. I've been asked to participate in vocal competitions with the promise of being picked as a finalist...nothing new. If a competition involves opinion, just suck it up!! Trump is Trump, and he rules his domain. Look at what he's done, and where he is! He's a businessman, even in private life, and I don't think his picture is in the dictionary under the word "fair". WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!

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