Miss USA 2009

Last updated

Miss USA 2009
Kristen Dalton (Miss USA).jpg
Miss USA 2009 Kristen Dalton
DateApril 19, 2009
Presenters
Entertainment
Venue The AXIS, Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcaster
Entrants51
Placements15
Winner Kristen Dalton
Flag of North Carolina.svg North Carolina
CongenialityCynthia Pate
Flag of Wyoming.svg Wyoming
Photogenic Jessi Pierson
Flag of West Virginia.svg West Virginia
  2008
2010  

Miss USA 2009 was the 58th Miss USA pageant, held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Kristen Dalton of North Carolina was crowned by outgoing titleholder Crystle Stewart of Texas.

Contents

The event was hosted by Billy Bush of Access Hollywood and actress Nadine Velazquez; Bush returned to host the pageant which he last emceed in 2005. He had previously co-hosted Miss USA 2003 with Daisy Fuentes and Miss USA 2004–2005 with Nancy O'Dell. Entertainment was provided by Kevin Rudolf who performed "Let It Rock" during the swimsuit competition and The Veronicas performed "Untouched" during the evening gown competition. [1]

The competition was broadcast in High Definition for only the second time in history.

Delegates representing the fifty states plus the District of Columbia competed in the pageant, and arrived in Las Vegas on April 2. [2] Miss USA Kristen Dalton represented the US at the Miss Universe 2009 pageant, where she reached the Top 10.

Pageants were held from June 2008 to January 2009 to select the representative for each state. During the final show on April 19, the fifteen delegates with the highest average scores from the preliminary competition were announced. The top fifteen competed in the swimsuit competition. The top ten delegates from swimsuit competed in evening gown. The top five delegates from the evening gown competition (not averaged composite scores from both competitions) competed in the final question round to determine the winner. The judges' composite score was shown after each round of competition for only the third time since 2002.

Miss USA 2009 Titlecard Miss USA 2009 logo.jpg
Miss USA 2009 Titlecard

Delegates

The Miss USA 2009 delegates were:

StateContestantHometownAge [lower-alpha 1] HeightPlacementAwardNotes
Flag of Alabama.svg Alabama Rachel Philippona [3] Dothan 20
Flag of Alaska.svg Alaska Jessica Irene Nolin [4] Palmer 22
Flag of Arizona.svg Arizona Alicia-Monique Blanco [5] Phoenix 225'8"2nd runner-up
Flag of Arkansas (1924-2011).svg Arkansas Chanley Painter Conway 245'9"Top 10
Flag of California.svg California Carrie Prejean La Jolla 215'10"1st runner-upLater dethroned due to same-sex marriage controversy after the conclusion of the pageant
Flag of Colorado.svg Colorado Patrice Williams Colorado Springs 225'7"
Flag of Connecticut.svg Connecticut Monica Mary Pietrzak Manchester 255'11"Top 15
Flag of Delaware.svg Delaware Kate Banaszak Middletown 24
Flag of the District of Columbia.svg District of Columbia Nicole White Washington, D.C. 205'8"Previously Miss District of Columbia Teen USA 2004
Flag of Florida.svg Florida Anastagia Pierre Fort Lauderdale 205'9"Previously Miss Florida Teen USA 2004
Later Miss Bahamas Intercontinental 2010 and Miss Bahamas 2011
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg Georgia Kimberly Gittings Lilburn 20Top 15
Flag of Hawaii.svg Hawaii Aureana Tseu Mililani Town 255'7"Previously Miss Hawaii Teen USA 1999
Flag of Idaho.svg Idaho Melissa Weber Boise 27Top 15
Flag of Illinois.svg Illinois Ashley Bond Chicago 24
Flag of Indiana.svg Indiana Courtni Hall [6] Crawfordsville [7] 20 [7] 5'3" [7] Previously Miss Indiana Teen USA 2004 [8]
Flag of Iowa.svg Iowa Chelsea Lynn Gauger Ankeny 20
Flag of Kansas.svg Kansas Courtney Courter Olathe 235'9"
Flag of Kentucky.svg Kentucky Maria Elizabeth Montgomery Danville 195'10"4th runner-up
Flag of Louisiana (2006-2010).svg Louisiana Lacey Minchew Baton Rouge 255'7"Previously Miss Teen America 2002, represented Georgia
Flag of Maine.svg Maine Ashley Underwood Benton 245'8"Later contestant in Survivor: Redemption Island
Flag of Maryland.svg Maryland Gabrielle Carlson Marion Station 24
Flag of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts Alison Cronin Weymouth 21Previously Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2005
Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan Lindsey Tycholiz Sterling Heights 26
Flag of Minnesota.svg Minnesota Erica Nego Plymouth 24Top 15Later Miss Universe Ghana 2011
Flag of Mississippi (2001-2020).svg Mississippi Jessica Lauren McRaney Terry 23Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2004
Flag of Missouri.svg Missouri Stacey Smith Florissant 235'9"
Flag of Montana.svg Montana Misti Vogt Kalispell 235'11"
Flag of Nebraska.svg Nebraska Meagan Winings Atkinson 23Previously Miss Nebraska Teen USA 2004
Flag of Nevada.svg Nevada Georgina Vaughan [9] Las Vegas 215'10"Previously Miss Nevada Teen USA 2006
Flag of New Hampshire.svg New Hampshire Christy Dunn Laconia 26
Flag of New Jersey.svg New Jersey Kaity Rodriguez Clifton 24
Flag of New Mexico.svg New Mexico Bianca Matamoros-Koonce Albuquerque 23
Flag of New York.svg New York Tracey Chang New York City 265'7"
Flag of North Carolina.svg North Carolina Kristen Dalton Wilmington 225'7"Miss USA 2009Daughter of Jeannie Boger, Miss North Carolina USA 1982
Sister of Julia Dalton, Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2008 and Miss North Carolina USA 2015
Flag of North Dakota.svg North Dakota Kelsey Erickson Grand Forks 22
Flag of Ohio.svg Ohio Natasha Vivoda Champion 21
Flag of Oklahoma.svg Oklahoma Lauren Lunday Altus 25
Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon Sylvie Tarpinian Eugene 24
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania Lindsey Nelsen Dallastown 215'7"
Flag of Rhode Island.svg Rhode Island Alysha Castonguay Woonsocket 225'6"Previously Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2002
Previously Miss Teen America 2003
Previously Miss Teen Galaxy 2005
Flag of South Carolina.svg South Carolina Stephanie Murray Smith Goose Creek 215'7"Top 10Later contestant in The Amazing Race 17 [10]
Flag of South Dakota.svg South Dakota Jessica Rowell Sioux Falls 225'7"
Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee Kristen Motil Franklin 245'9"Top 10
Flag of Texas.svg Texas Brooke Daniels Tomball 225'9"Top 10
Flag of Utah (1913-1922).png Utah Laura Chukanov Salt Lake City 225'9"3rd runner-up
Flag of Vermont.svg Vermont Brooke Werner Granville 22
Flag of Virginia.svg Virginia Maegan Phillips Quantico 22Top 15
Flag of Washington.svg Washington Tara Turnure Seattle 23Sister of Tracy Turnure, Miss Washington USA 2010
Flag of West Virginia.svg West Virginia Jessi Pierson Milton 215'7"Top 10Miss Photogenic
Flag of Wisconsin.svg Wisconsin Alexandra Wehrley Pewaukee 215'8"Later worked as a television host
Flag of Wyoming.svg Wyoming Cynthia Pate Casper 22Miss Congeniality

Judges

Preliminary judges

Telecast judges

Background music

Controversy

During the 2009 Miss USA pageant, Miss California Carrie Prejean, was asked by openly gay pageant judge, Perez Hilton, whether she believed every state should legalize same-sex marriage. She responded that she did not. After the pageant Hilton made negative comments about the contestant and told ABC News: "She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the front-runner before that," [11] leading some to believe that the answer directly had caused her to lose the competition. [12] Prejean stated that Miss California USA officials had pressured her to apologize for her statement and "not talk" about her Christian faith. [13]

Several politicians and commentators assailed Hilton and defended Prejean for honestly stating her personal beliefs. [14] [15] [16]

Following the pageant, Prejean hired a Christian public relations firm, [14] and appeared in a television advertisement by the National Organization for Marriage. [17] However, on June 10, 2009, Prejean again stated that her question caused her to lose her title when she learned she was fired by Donald Trump. Miss California USA officials state that her answer had nothing to do with her termination, citing continued breach of her contract instead.

New crown

In keeping with co-owner NBC Universal's "Green is Universal" environmental initiative, the Miss Universe Organization announced that Diamond Nexus Labs would become the official jewelry sponsor for the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. DNL 's man-made gemstones are "all synthesized in clean labs using environmentally friendly processes". Diamond Nexus Labs will create a custom-designed crown for Miss USA 2009, as well as for the Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants later this year. [18]

Notes

  1. Ages at the time of the pageant

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References

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  12. "Carrie Prejean Says Answer to Gay Marriage Question Cost Her Miss USA Crown". Fox News. 2009-04-20. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  13. "Carrie Prejean says she was asked to apologize for gay marriage comments, but refused". Daily News. New York. 2009-04-27.
  14. 1 2 U.S. News & World Report - "Miss California, Carrie Prejean, Signs With Top Christian Publicity Firm" Archived 2009-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Newsom Defends Miss California. NBC News. Published April 23, 2009.
  16. "Political Grapevine" segment of Special Report with Brit Hume, Fox News, August 15, 2006 (Miss California Continues to Grab Headlines)
  17. National Organization for Marriage
  18. Goetzl, David (2009-03-06). "Miss Universe Sparkles With Diamond Sponsor". Media News Daily. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-02-07.