: LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 26-year-old entrepreneur from Texas was named Miss USA on Friday, besting 50 other beauty queens for the coveted crown.
Crystle Stewart, of Missouri City, Texas, runs a party-planning and motivational speaking company, as well as modeling professionally. She says she wants to dedicate her life to international philanthropy.
"I want to talk to people about how to set a goal and achieve it," she told The Associated Press after the show. "Because I just achieved my goal."
Stewart edged out first runner-up Leah Laviano of Mississippi and Tiffany Andrade of New Jersey.
Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith relinquished the crown — and the posh New York apartment that comes with it — in a show aired live by NBC with hosts Donny and Marie Osmond from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The network co-owns the parent Miss Universe Organization with Donald Trump.
Smith, a former Miss Tennessee USA, said she was headed to Hollywood.
Stewart was headed for the publicity circuit. She said she was eager to travel and spread her message of self-improvement to young women. She noted she was one of only a handful of black woman crowned Miss USA in the pageant's 57-year history.
"I think the United States is coming together," she said, citing the historic presidential candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. She declined to name her preference.
"I don't know, we'll see. Fundamentally, I'm a Democrat," she said.
Contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have been in Las Vegas for nearly three weeks, rehearsing and hyping the 57th annual pageant. After stints in Baltimore and Los Angeles, organizers billed the new venue as a city beloved by the event's international audience.
The pageant tried to showed off its edge, featuring a grinding live rock performance by the band Finger Eleven, music from Rihanna, and contestants in barely there black bikinis and faux-fur coats.
Donny and Marie kept up a steady stream of sibling banter even while swiftly whittling the field.
Donny Osmond told the losers to "put on a poker face" as he sent them home.
"Or use Botox; then it won't move," Marie quipped.
Stewart will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam in July. She also becomes a spokeswoman for breast and ovarian cancer awareness and other causes, while traveling to promote the organization.
Miss USA contestants are scored in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview. Miss Alaska USA, Courtney Erin Carroll, was chosen "Miss Photogenic USA" based on voting at the organization's Web site. The other contestants named Miss Ohio USA, Monica Day, "Miss Congeniality." Unlike the rival Miss America, Miss USA contestants are not asked to perform a talent.
Smith's year on the throne has been marked by fewer racy headlines than her 2006 predecessor, Tara Conner. Conner's underage drinking landed her in rehab and sparked a media circus documenting her fall from grace.
Smith's low point was a fall onstage during the evening gown competition of the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City. She was booed by the crowd and Miss Japan won the title.
A bigger blunder this year belonged to Miss California USA organizers. The judges crowned the wrong queen in their November contest and reversed it days later, saying Raquel Beezley, of Barstow, was the victim of a vote tabulation error. Dethroned Miss Los Angeles, Christina Silva, a Hispanic woman, has filed a lawsuit alleging racial bias.
Asked to comment on the lawsuit, Stewart was whisked away by organizers. The Miss Universe Organization would not comment on the matter.
The panel of judges for Friday's pageant included Heather Mills, model and former wife of Paul McCartney; comedian Rob Schneider; Olympic gold-medal swimmer Amanda Beard; and Christian Siriano, winner of Bravo's fashion reality series, "Project Runway."
MO CITY ON DA MAP Y'ALL!!! THAT'S MY HOMETOWN (HUNTERS GLEN: 281)....WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! MO CITY, STAND UP!
FOR ANYBODY WHO HAVEN'T BEEN TO MISSOURI CITY, IT'S DEFINITELY A NICE CITY AND COMMUNITY. I USED TO LIVE ON PINEWOOD PARK DRIVE, HAVING BLOCK PARTIES, AND ER THANG....THAT WAS THEM GOOD OL DAYZ :)
I saw the first 15 minutes of that show and it's really strange how it seemed to be a Rihanna commercial. It wasn't at all a world class beauty pageant. Im glad a sista got her just desserts though. I think instead of focusing on the fact that she's black we should be focusing on the fact that she deserved it though. IT kind of minimizes her win to talk about her race because that isn't why she won.
Man. I'm getting to where I don’t understand my own people any more. If she were looking like one of the women of Flava of Love, talking ghetto with no vocabulary and no goals, a lot of you would be dogging her for that, but this woman is an accomplished black woman. Yall not proud that we have another black role model to add to our history? Man! It’s so disappointing to read some of the comments. So, if she doesn’t look to your liking, she does not deserve to be Ms America? I don’t think the pageant is based solely on looks, is it? Wow. I am proud of this woman for working hard, being an entrepreneur and winning the pageant. That makes me want to step my game up. And don’t you all think our black kids need to see some positive, successful black people because it gives them hope instead of them always living their lives defeated, and coveting over what white folks have. There just aint no pleasing black folks, and we're the 1st race to complain that we cant catch a break, or that if one of our own makes it, they don’t help the rest. Well, it’s no wonder. Look at the way we dog each other. What a shame. Our race is continuing to spiral downward morally because of attitudes such as some of these..
About *** time. Last time we's done had a black Miss USA swhen Vunesuh Willmeums done run aways from duh Playboy plantation. Lawd I hopes this one aint done did no porn. Lawd dont lit this one done did no porn. I is beggin lawd. Big Shirley promise to give up Hammhocks and Koolaid fo 3 days lawd. Well maybuh not duh Koolaid. But please lawd let this be a good clean girl.
i always thought that 'miss america' was a white only contest! isn't that what normal ppl would think when apartheid blacks have created their own version of everything else over the past few decades that racially exclude whites in a way that whites haven't done to blacks in many many years? maybe this is the time to get rid of 'miss black america' and BET.
WELL IT IS FINALLY ABOUT TIME TEXAS.
I WORKED IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY FOR YEARS IF FORT WORTH TEXAS THAT HOSTED THE OTHER PAGEANT FOR MS AMERICA AND I DON'T EVER THINK A BLACK FEMALE HAS WON EITHER TEXAS COMPETITION FOR MS AMERICA OR MISS USA. I HAVE BEEN AWAY FOR 13 YEARS AND I KNEW THAT A BLACK WOMAN IN TEXAS COULD DO IT.
In my experience in life, this the type of black women that will sell you down the river. TOTALLY SOLD OUT!!!! She really think she's accepted now by white men now, and sold her soul for riches!!!
Once white men get through pumpin' her, she'll fizzle into the background!
That's what they wanted to do with Beyonce but she married JAY Z!
I just want to take back a comment I posted earlier.
After googleing her name I learned a lot about her. She is extremely smart and successful and gives back to the community. There are several pictures on the web and she is very pretty. The pictures posted on MTO are not pretty to me. Again, she is a very pretty black young woman and I am happy that she won.
I just want to take back a comment I posted earlier.
After googleing her name I learned a lot about her. She is extremely smart and successful and gives back to the community. There are several pictures on the web and she is very pretty. The pictures posted on MTO are not pretty to me. Again, she is a very pretty black young woman and I am happy that she won.
Crystle Stewart, Miss Texas, was crowned Miss USA last *** in Las Vegas Nevada. She’s the second sister in a row to wear the crown, and the 5th to claim the title in the pageant’s history.
LOL @ Staypoppin you're really rambling. Some people really kill me with that sell out garbage. Meanwhile they're the main ones who support the entertainers who really do more harm than good to us as a people.
4179Wht is MTO reporting that a "Black woman is crowned Miss USA?" Has everyone forgotten that Rachel Smith is black as well???? Or did anyone know in the first place? Being African American comes in all shades. Rachel Smith's mother is white, and her father is black. She worked for Oprah as an intern at Harpo Studios before she competed in the pagent.
Anyway, congrats to Crystle Stewart, and may her reign be free of drug and *** internet scandals!!!
Iluvyellowboyz
I said in my experience in life, I don't know her personally and I really just used her situation to make a point!
As far as supporting entertainers that do more harm than good. Do'nt be a hypocrite and support movies filled with murder and knock hip hop when some of it glorifies the SAME THING!!
Someone already screwed you up mentally because you're prejudiced against dark skin black men! You're actually proud of it and show the world your ignorance. Practice what you preach sista!
In my previous comment, I forgot to congratulate the sista on her huge accomplishment!!
Prejudice? Look I can be attracted to whomever I like. But I will always support and praise black people doing positive things. I will ignore and when possible tear down any black person who I feel is bringing harm our way.
It's nice you finally congratulated this sista.
I wont be logging on anymore today, so enjoy your Sunday.
When I read some of the ignorant comments that black people make I can only but shake my head and reflect on how sometimes I'm sooo ashamed that I'm black. Here is a young lady who is giving back to the black community, who is making a difference with her life and someone you can only attempt to tear her down. What on earth is wrong with some of you. I know jealousy makes nasty people, but come on folks...!!!!!!!!!!! Didn't you parents teach you that if you have nothing good to say to keep your mout ***!
Ms KIKI
Thank you for your compliment.
I'm not upset at all! It just strikes me that she only dates a portion of her race and don't consider that division within the same race she says she wants to protect, praise, and uplift!
But comdemns some rappers that glorify what she watches on TV, and probably watch with her young relatives she tells not to listen to certain rappers.
Some people can't see what thy are doing until someone else points it out. That includes myself!!
ILUVYELLOBOYS
Ofcourse you can date who you choose. I really wanted to push your hot button to see if you were like some of the lightskin girls I've dated in the past.
They used to say some ignorant stuff pertaining to dark skin men. It always tripped me out to hear Black people tell other Blacks like me "your're cute to be dark" If that's not a thorough brainwashing from MASA what is?
I don't listen to Gangsta rap the way I used to because I've gotten to grown for most of it now. But they have the right to express themselves just like the director and writers that scripted killers in the movie Pulp Fiction!
People were pushing weight in our communities long before Ice Cube or Tupac were even born, so don't don't blame hip hop for the white man's side hustle which is supplying black dope dealers with dope to sell to self made victims!!
@STAYPOPPIN01
i understand what u sayin, even though that's what she likes but dont even pay that ignorance no mind! if they can't figure it out by now, then they'll neva figure it out! i've neva heard someone tell me "oh ur cute to be dark, or u look good for a dark skin girl" so as much as i want to, i can't speak on that...imma say this for the 1 millionth time, if u black no matter how light u are, you are still a ***.i.g.g.e.r. to white america(the racist part at least)so black people stop tryin so hard to kiss the white man ***!
It's not surprising that mainstream hasn't covered this. I'm JUST NOW reading that we have a black Miss America! I bet if this chick was some Paris Hilton/Britney Spears, Laguna Beach reject, her winning moment would've been on all the major morning news networks, etc. At any rate, congrats to Crystle! (she's got my last name too!) Just don't pull a Vanessa Williams on us.
I don't get the hate being directed towards her, she actually does for her community, she shows intelligence and independence, she does not wait for no dude to do s**t for her, she is my type. I don't really get down with the low-class types which are glorified in the media (video hoes, porn hoes, reality show birds). I would stay single if I couldn't have a lady like her on my team, no loud, crass, uneducated, dependent, ghetto bird for me.
