Marriage Comments Cost Miss California Her Miss USA Crown

Carrie Prejean stands by her belief that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

In a world where being politically correct amounts to everything, Miss California Carrie Prejean, a strong contender for the much-coveted title of Miss USA, committed the biggest faux pas in the history of beauty pageants by forgetting to be diplomatic. However, even if that cost her her crown, she is still convinced that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, especially when it refers to such a personal experience as marriage is, the beauty queen tells Us Weekly.

Miss USA judge Perez Hilton asked Carrie Prejean how she felt about same-gender marriages and whether they should be legalized. The beauty queen chose to be bluntly honest in her answer, thus, annoy many members of the audience, and especially Perez Hilton. “And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.” Prejean said.

Now, in the aftermath of the answer that made all the headlines, the beauty queen says that it was precisely her stance as regards marriage that cost her her crown. She’s not sorry, though, because she was raised to speak her mind and will never regret doing so. Moreover, she says, the beauty of living in America is that she gets to have her own ideas and voice them in a way that offends no one – which she is sure she did not.

“It did cost me my crown. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I said what I feel. I stated an opinion that was true to myself and that’s all I can do. It is a very touchy subject and I see where [Hilton] was coming from and I see the audience would’ve wanted me to be more politically correct. But I was raised in a way that you can never compromise your beliefs and your opinions for anything.” Prejean says, as quoted by the mag.

“That’s what’s so great about being an American – we’re able to have our own opinions. I feel like I won. I feel like I’m the winner. I really do.” Prejean also says. Moreover, the beauty insists she would never feel ashamed by what she believes in, even if that comes to contradict whatever the others are saying, and this is an opinion she will hold on to no matter how much criticism she attracts in the media.

Perez Hilton, who partially started the entire controversy by asking Prejean the question, is also a celebrity blogger and open about his orientation, so one can imagine the kind of heat Miss California is now getting on the Internet. Even her relationship with swimmer Michael Phelps is reason for ridicule in some circles, several media outlets are pointing out, as also is her obstinacy at not saying she’s sorry for her “blunder.”