Miss USA Pageant legal woes, Carrie Prejean sues

By April MacIntyre Sep 1, 2009, 1:15 GMT

Miss California Carrie Prejean, whose comments opposing gay marriage sparked controversy, was stripped of her title according to reports on 10 June 2009. A spokesperson for the company that operates the pageant said the action was taken because of \'contract violations\'. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

The first shoe has dropped in the post-Miss USA fracas that had a guest judge #8 ask a conservative beauty queen about her stance on gay marriage, and the resulting action after she spoke her heart.

Former Miss California Carrie Prejean is suing California pageant officials claiming the state organization discriminated against her religious beliefs, caused her emotional distress and engaged in slander, her lawyer said in a press statement.

The suit was leveled at K2 Productions (the franchise that operates the Miss California Organization) and co-executive directors Keith Lewis, Shanna Moakler and publicist Roger Neal.

Prejean was stripped of her crown when state pageant officials pulled a “breach of contract” card for failure to attend scheduled appearances.

"If Carrie had not answered the question in support of traditional marriage ... she would most certainly still be Miss California,” Prejean’s attorney Charles S Limandri said to FOX news.

Shanna Moakler's camp countered with their own statement:

"On Ms. Moakler's behalf, I can say unequivocally that Ms. Prejean's lawsuit is without merit," said Mel Avanzado, Moakler's lawyer.

"More importantly, as everyone who watched or read her public statements is well aware, Ms. Prejean's unfortunate and bigoted statements are responsible for any public humiliation or damages to her reputation that she has claimed to have suffered," Avanzado added. "Ms. Moakler strenuously denies that she did anything wrong and looks forward to proving that in a court of law."

Prejean's lawsuit alleges that Lewis’ assistant emailed Prejean before the Miss USA pageant with instructions not to reference God in her Miss USA applications.

According to FOX news, the Prejean suit also alleges that Lewis told Prejean's mother that Carrie was not to attend the after-party as “too many people were angry with her.”

Prejean contends in her suit that Lewis, Moakler, Neal and guest judge, blogger Perez Hilton created a “conspiracy to attack” that has caused her to suffer “emotional distress, anxiety, depression and loss of sleep.”

Prejean claims she is now suffering “public ridicule, scorn and humiliation, lost earnings,” and has had to spend a great deal of money with stress-related medical expenses, according to FOX.com.

Prejean claims Moakler and Lewis illegally disclosed private medical information when they allegedly leaked details of her breast augmentation surgery to the media.

Lewis plans to counter-sue.  “It appears that suits from both sides are now inevitable against the other," Lewis said. "I would guess Carrie sees it as a chance to get publicity for her upcoming book because in the interviews I have seen, she talks about the suit and the book in the same breath. We have no problem with her selling lots of books -- considering in the current situation we could stand to profit from every copy she sells.

“For us, it has never been about her beliefs and we have always just wanted to move on. But it seems like Carrie really has nothing new to talk about or anything new in her life so the impression is she just keeps looking for ways to rehash her position as a victim because of her onstage answer.”

Miss USA executive producer (and owner) Donald Trump is not named in the legal action.