{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-miss-universe-teen-usa-allegations","title":"Miss Universe and Teen USA: Contestants Allege Inappropriate Dressing Room Access","date":"1997-01-01","lastUpdated":"2016-10-14","description":"Multiple former Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA contestants alleged that Donald Trump — who owned the Miss Universe Organization from 1996 to 2015 — entered their dressing rooms without warning while contestants were undressed or in various states of undress. The allegations emerged prominently during the 2016 presidential campaign and included accounts from Miss Teen USA contestants who were minors at the time. Trump's own statements on a 2005 radio interview with Howard Stern, in which he described walking into dressing rooms as a perk of ownership, corroborated the general practice he described as deliberate.","summary":"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.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kendalltaggart/miss-teen-usa-contestants-describe-trump-walking-in-on-them","title":"Miss Teen USA Contestants Describe Trump Walking In On Them While They Were Changing","publisher":"BuzzFeed News"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/politics/trump-contestants-miss-universe-pageant.html","title":"Former Miss Universe Contestants Say Trump Barged Into Dressing Rooms","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pageant-dressing-room-contestants/2016/10/12/story.html","title":"Multiple Miss Universe contestants describe Trump walking into dressing rooms","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-pageant-dressing-room-howard-stern","title":"Trump in 2005: Walking into dressing rooms was a perk of ownership","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Miss-Universe","Miss-Teen-USA","pageants","pre-presidency","civil-rights","minors","Howard-Stern"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1997-01-01","title":"Miss Teen USA pageants — minor contestants affected","summary":"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."},{"date":"2005-01-01","title":"Howard Stern interview — Trump describes dressing room access as perk","summary":"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."},{"date":"2016-10-12","title":"Multiple contestants go public — corroborated by Stern recording","summary":"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."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY / various pageant venues","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"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","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"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","institution":"Miss Universe Organization / Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2016-10-14","summary":"Based on October 2016 reporting during presidential campaign."}]}}