Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel – the first Asian and Filipina American to win the title – has been rocked by cheating allegations that the pageant was fixed for her to win.
Gabriel celebrated alone after all other contestants left the stage when she was crowned. All beauty queens usually say on the stage after the crowning to celebrate with the winner.
However, some reports claim Mis Texas was pre-chosen as the winner, saying her trip to a plastic surgery spa weeks before the coronation was considered proof.
The clinic shared a photo of Gabriel’s visit only hours after she scooped the title, sparking suspicion they had known that she would win as none of the other contestants have been filmed for their own advertisement should they have obtained the crown.
Raising more suspicions was Gabriel’s closeness to Miss USA director Crystle Stewart, also a former Miss USA.
Stewart was filmed arranging Gabriel’s hair only weeks before she won.
Miss Montana, Heather Lee O’Keefe, said on TikTok: “Most of the Miss USA contestants feel very strongly that there was favoritism towards Miss Texas USA and we have the receipts to prove it.”
O’Keefe also said in an Instagram Live: “We are putting our titles on the line, putting our reputations on the line. That’s how strongly we feel about believing and standing up for what is right.
“There is many of us who have even said we are willing to relinquish our titles to take this stand because that’s how serious we are about this.”
The newly crowned Miss USA 2022 sat down with Entertainment News to respond to the claims that were made against her.
“I would never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win. I have a lot of integrity,” she said.
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