Miss USA Overheard List - Another Miss USA contestant has claimed she heard a fellow competitor name the pageant's finalists before they were announced, reigniting the debate over whether the competition was rigged.
It comes after Miss Pennsylvania vowed to stand by her accusations that Karina Brez, who was representing Florida, recited the top five women after seeing a list of their names backstage.
The latest accuser, who has spoken on condition of anonymity, said Miss Brez had appeared 'very, very flustered and upset' as the top 15 girls were announced.
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'I thought it might be because she didn’t make the top 15 cut, but at that point she was able to reveal to me at least four of the five names who went on to be the top girls,' the contestant told FOX News.
'She couldn’t remember the fifth because she was so upset. Several of the girls then started hearing through the grapevine about a list; a lot of people were upset.'
She added that she would stand by Miss Pennsylvania, who is being sued by Miss Universe Organization co-owner Donald Trump over her claims.
'A lot of the girls now are very upset about how Pennsylvania is being treated and aggressively attacked by an organization that claims to empower women,' she said.
She added that other women are scared to come forward in case they also face lawsuits, but 'if they had to testify in court, I’m sure the girls would do it'.
Miss Pennsylvania's Sheena Monnin first accused Miss Universe Organization of rigging the competition when she resigned from her position last week.
In a Facebook post announcing her resignation, she wrote: 'Apparently the morning of June 3rd [Brez] saw a folder lying open to a page that said 'FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012' and she saw the places for Top 5 already filled in.
'After the Top 16 were called and we were standing backstage she hesitantly said to me and another contestant that she knew who the Top 5 were. I said 'who do you think they will be?' She said that she didn't 'think' she 'knew' because she saw the list that morning.
'She relayed whose names were on the list. Then we agreed to wait and see if that was indeed the Top 5 called that night. After it was indeed the Top 5 I knew the show must be rigged.'
Miss Universe Organization vehemently denied the claims and said that Monnin had cited the new rules allowing transgender contestants as her reason for resigning.
Donald Trump also denied the claims and said he would sue Monnin, who he believed was suffering 'loser's remorse'. 'I did see her for about a second. I never felt that she had a chance,' he told Today.
Despite these legal threats, Monnin is standing by her accusations.
'I know what I heard, and I know what I in turn witnessed... so I’m prepared to continue to march forward,' Monnin responded on Today.
'I feel an injustice has been done, not only to the other people who were not in the top five, but to the thousands of pageant girls across the country who competed, believing this is an honest system.'
But Brez has also come forward to deny she made the claims seriously.
'Backstage during the pageant, I did see a piece of paper with names on it and like most people in such frenetic circumstances, joked that they must be the names of the final contestants,' Brez said.
'It was a throwaway comment, in the stress of the pageant, and was never meant as fact. The list I saw didn’t even have the eventual winner on it.'
Monnin told Today she believes Brez changed her story out of fear.
'She looked a little bit scared because she had just seen something that would potentially, drastically change the reputation of the Miss Universe Organization,' she said. 'This is a big deal.'
The top 15 girls are decided by preliminary judging in the days before the broadcast, and fan voting determines the 16th. The top ten, top five and winner are decided in the live show, a rep said.
The scores for the competition are believed to be entered into a computer system as the show is live. These results are monitored and verified by Ernst & Young.
'In accordance with the rules of the competition, Ernst & Young's tabulation of the judges' votes which determined the final five contestants did not occur until after the evening gown competition had been completed,' a representative said.
Judge Joe Jonas tweeted after the accusations: 'All I can say... Is the Miss USA competition was NOT rigged. Miss [Rhode Island] USA won fair and square.'
The pageant named Ms Culpo, a 20-year-old cellist, the winner after she made it clear that she embraced all beauty queens - transgender or otherwise - during the interview portion.
In the dreaded final question round, Ms Culpo was faced with the most difficult question of the night: Would it be fair for a person born a man to be named Miss Universe after becoming a woman?
Ms Culpo never stumbled as she embraced the Miss Universe Organization's recent decision to admit transgender contestants.
'I do think that would be fair,' she said. 'But I could understand how people could be apprehensive to take that road.'
It is an opinion that Monnin does not share. In her resignation email, she wrote: 'I refuse to be part of a pageant system that has so far and so completely removed itself from its foundational principles as to allow and support natural born males to compete in it.
'This goes against ever moral fiber of my being. I believe in integrity, high moral character, and fair play, none of which are part of this system any longer.'
Ms Culpo will represent the United States at the 61st Miss Universe pageant later this year. An American has not been named Miss Universe since Brook Lee won the title in 1997. Trump sues Miss Pa. Yahoo: Miss USA Contestant: Rigging Comment Was a Joke
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