Miss Universe and Teen USA: Contestants Allege Inappropriate Dressing Room Access
At least 5 women who competed in Miss Universe or Miss Teen USA pageants publicly described Trump entering backstage areas while contestants were changing. In a 2005 Howard Stern interview, Trump explicitly described walking through dressing rooms at his pageants as a privilege of ownership, saying he could 'get away with' it. Former contestants described the experience as shocking and uncomfortable. Miss Teen USA contestants who were minors at the time of the alleged incidents described the same pattern. Trump denied the specific allegations made in 2016 while his Stern interview statements directly contradicted aspects of his denial.
Record summary
Grade
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Executive actions that exceed constitutional authority, circumvent statutory constraints, or weaponize government institutions for political ends. Scale and definitions
- Status
- Concluded
- Incident date
- Record updated
- Location
- New York, NY / various pageant venues
- Category
- Civil Rights
- Legal posture
- Reported
- War-crime classification
- Enabling conduct
- Verification
- Cross-referenced
- ICC relevance
- No
- Sources
- 4 cited
- Stable ID
trump-pre-presidency-miss-universe-teen-usa-allegations- Victims
- Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA contestants who were subjected to unannounced male entry to dressing rooms while changing; minor contestants in Miss Teen USA who were children at the time of the alleged incidents
- Alleged responsible parties
- Donald Trump, Owner of the Miss Universe Organization; described in Stern interview as deliberately entering dressing rooms; denied specific 2016 allegations while his own prior statements described the general practice— Miss Universe Organization / Trump Organization
Key points
- In a 2005 Howard Stern radio interview, Trump described walking into dressing rooms at his pageants as a deliberate practice: 'I'll go backstage before a show... And everyone's getting dressed, and ready and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it... Is everyone OK? You know, they're standing there with no clothes... and I'm just walking by...' Trump described this as a 'perk' of ownership
- At least five women who competed in Miss Universe or Miss Teen USA pageants publicly described Trump entering dressing room areas without warning while contestants were in various states of undress; their accounts were consistent with each other and with Trump's own 2005 description of the practice
- Miss Teen USA contestants were minors — some as young as 15 — at the time of the alleged incidents; one contestant who was 15 at the time described the experience and the impact on her; the minor status of contestants made the allegations particularly serious
- Trump denied the specific claims made in 2016, calling the women liars; his denials were complicated by the 2005 Stern interview in which he had described the same general practice approvingly; Trump's campaign acknowledged the Stern interview was real but argued it was taken out of context
- The Miss Universe Organization owned Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA from 1996; Trump sold the organization to WME/IMG in 2015 for approximately $100 million; the allegations covered the period of his ownership
- The allegations were part of a broader pattern of sexual misconduct accounts that emerged during the 2016 campaign, particularly after the Access Hollywood tape; they were among 26+ accounts documented by various women by 2020, spanning Trump's career from the 1980s through the campaign period
Overview
Trump described it himself in 2005 on Howard Stern's radio show: walking into pageant dressing rooms while contestants were undressing, calling it a perk of ownership. When contestants described the same thing in 2016, Trump called them liars.
The recording existed. He had described the practice approvingly.
The Stern Interview
The 2005 Stern interview was not ambiguous. Trump described going backstage at his pageants while women were changing, noting there were no men allowed, and positioning his entry as something he could "get away with" as the owner. He described it as an inspection, as walking through while "they're standing there with no clothes."
He appeared to find it amusing. He described it to Stern as a privilege he enjoyed.
The Contestants' Accounts
The women who came forward in 2016 described the same experience: Trump walking into dressing rooms without warning while they were in various states of undress. Some described it as shocking, as violating. The accounts were consistent with each other and with what Trump had described to Stern eleven years earlier.
Some contestants were minors. Miss Teen USA included competitors as young as 15. The presence of an adult male in dressing rooms where children were changing raised questions that went beyond privacy violation into child protection.
The Denial
Trump's response was to call the women liars. He had the Stern interview on his record — his own words describing the practice — but denied the specific accounts. His campaign acknowledged the Stern interview was genuine while arguing it was taken out of context.
The context was Trump, on Howard Stern's show, describing walking into dressing rooms at his pageants while women were undressed, as a privilege he deliberately exercised. The context was not favorable.
Update log
-
Based on October 2016 reporting during presidential campaign.
Sequence of events
-
Miss Teen USA pageants — minor contestants affected
Allegations of Trump entering contestant dressing rooms without warning cover the period of his ownership of the Miss Universe Organization (1996-2015), including Miss Teen USA pageants where contestants were minors. Some contestants describe being as young as 15.
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Howard Stern interview — Trump describes dressing room access as perk
In a 2005 interview with Howard Stern, Trump describes walking into pageant dressing rooms while contestants are undressing, describing it as a perk of ownership. The recording becomes a central piece of evidence when 2016 allegations emerge.
-
Multiple contestants go public — corroborated by Stern recording
At least five former Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA contestants publicly describe Trump entering dressing rooms without warning. Their accounts match Trump's own 2005 description of the practice. Trump denies the specific allegations.
Sources
- Miss Teen USA Contestants Describe Trump Walking In On Them While They Were Changing — BuzzFeed News
- Former Miss Universe Contestants Say Trump Barged Into Dressing Rooms — The New York Times
- Multiple Miss Universe contestants describe Trump walking into dressing rooms — The Washington Post
- Trump in 2005: Walking into dressing rooms was a perk of ownership — The Associated Press