Miss California: Topless photo to ‘somehow silence me’

Miss California said the topless photo surfaced in the web is just to “undermine my reputation and somehow silence me.” Although she said partially nude photos were taken when she was 17, but those may cost her the crown.

Miss California Carrie Prejean landed in a new row when her topless photo appeared in thedirty.com on Monday. State pageant spokesman reportedly said the partially nude photo might cost her crown for “breaching her contract.” The image also raised questions about her Christian credentials and her status as a spokeswoman for conservative causes. Ken Baker of E! News said: “She can continue to advocate for causes, but I don’t think these causes are going to advocate for her.” However, Prejean has retorted back saying those were just some modeling shots when she was 17 and vowed to continue her battle against same-sex marriage. In a statement Prejean said:

“I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be.”

In the picture the Miss California has posed only with a pair of revealing pink panties and smiling over her shoulder while covering her breasts with arms. The website has reportedly claimed that they have total six photos of Prejean and as of Tuesday morning they have posted only one photo. Alicia Jacobs, a judge at the April 19 Miss USA pageant, said the photo went beyond what the Miss California said. Jacobs said:

“I can assure you they were quite inappropriate, and certainly not photos befitting a beauty queen.”

The officials of the California pagent event, lawyers, and representatives of Donald Trump, who owns the international competition, discussed in a “closed-door meetings” regarding the fate of Miss California. Miss California USA spokesman Roger Neal said:

"They are going over the legalities and clearly she breached her contract. When you compete for Miss California, you're supposed to disclose whether you posed for nude or semi-nude photos because it's grounds for disqualification.”

Prejean, meanwhile, said this incident was a part of a smear campaign against her for opposing same-sex marriage. In her statement Prejean said:

“We live in a great country; a nation that was built on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Yet my comments defending traditional marriage have led to intimidation tactics that seek to undermine my reputation and somehow silence me and my beliefs, as if opinion is only a one-way street.”

Although Prejean claimed that the photos were taken when she was 17, but some people think they seem to have taken after she underwent breast-enhancement surgery six weeks prior to Miss USA pageant, where lost the crown for her anti-gay marriage views.