Miss Universe and Teen USA: Contestants Allege Inappropriate Dressing Room Access

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.