Carrie Prejean to Values Voter Summit: 'God chose me' with the gay-marriage question

It’s easy to make fun of beauty queens -- their plastic smiles, their bottle-blond tresses, their dreams for world peace. But Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California whose declaration that marriage should be between a man and woman earned her the vilification of some in the gay rights community, provided an unanticipated emotional highlight at a conference of Christian conservatives in Washington today.

In a heartfelt talk that moved some in the crowd to tears, Prejean recounted for the 1,700 activists gathered for the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington how distressing it was to go from shoo-in for Miss USA to not only losing, but being reviled and mocked for the answer on gay marriage she gave to pageant judge Perez Hilton, the celebrity gossip blogger.

“I knew as soon as I didn’t give the PC answer, I knew there was no way I would become Miss USA,” said Prejean, 22.

She had gone into the pageant in April believing herself to be the front-runner, and had spent months preparing: she had makeup coaches, walking coaches, accent modification coaches. For the question-and-answer portion of the pageant, she felt more than prepared because she had studied 500 questions. But then came Hilton’s question.

“Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”

“I saw all my prep fly by me,” said Prejean.

To the Values Voter crowd’s immense delight, she added: “As I saw my goals and aspirations flash by me, I knew God had a plan for me… God chose me for that moment. He knew I was strong enough to get through all the junk that I have been through.”

What she went through, she said, was “a vicious storm of attacks,” including being vulgarly insulted by Hilton in an Internet video, and having her parents’ divorce records published by tabloids.

She has also had a series of legal tangles with the Miss USA pageant, whose owner, Donald Trump, initially stood by her, as well as the company that owns the Miss California pageant, which she sued after it revoked her crown.

It’s not all bad news for Prejean, though. She also has a book coming out (“Still Standing”) and a burgeoning career on the inspirational speaker circuit.

“Even though I didn’t win the crown that night,” said Prejean, tearing up, “I know the Lord has so much of a bigger crown in heaven for me.”

The crowd stood and cheered. Luckily, it was time for lunch. She would have been a hard act to follow.

-- Robin Abcarian

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Photo: Carrie Prejean with, hosts Billy Bush and Nadine Velazquez,  answers a question from judge Perez Hilton, unseen, about legalizing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA Pageant in April. Credit: Associated Press.

Comments

[B Stern]

I think it's hilarious and pathetic that this woman is being made out to be the villain for voicing what she believes. She was asked to give her opinion and back it up. Last time I checked, Miss USA wasn't a political election. IT'S A BEAUTY CONTEST. Judged on poise, talent, and OMG beauty. Neither was her answer sociopathic. She didn't profess to hate gays - she gave her opinion on same sex marriage. For this, California wants to strip her of her crown???? SHAME ON THEM! Last time I checked, freedom of speech was still a right AND not limited to the liberals. This woman should get a medal for having the chutzpah to stand up for her values instead of caving into being "PC" to appease a few shallow people.

[RT]

So, if you don't agree with gay marriage or gay lifestyle, you are a bigot? Wow. Talk about a double standard.

[Mark]

She's a joke, and that makes her a great spokesmodel for the GOP and the so-called "values voters".

Republican, please nonminate the Palin/Prejean presidential ticket for 2012!

[mike d]

Intolerance is ugly, but stupidity is also ugly. And the way Ms. Prejean answered the question made it clear that she certainly had no ability to think on her feet or react appropriately.

[Unbelievable]

As always, God is used as the reasoning for bigotry. He/She/It called upon her to take a stand against Gay Marriage. It is also interesting to hear someone else take her side claiming that the Gay Community always labels someone spreading hate against them as a homophobe. I understand that not all KKK members are racist, some are just spreading the word of God to keep the white race pure. I also know that Ahmadinijad of Iran doesn't really hate Jews he just wants us to understand the ovens were not used to incinerate the Jews, they were on used for baking bread. Bigots of the world unite and carry a banner behind Ms. Prejean the new
poster child for prejudice in America!

[Winski]

Only at a get together like this - right wing nut bags all dressed up with nowhere to go - can someone of such small intellect say such a stupid thing and get positive headlines from it..I mean "Carrie Prejean to Values Voter Summit: 'God chose me' with the gay-marriage question" can only be classified as sheer, public lunacy...

It's amazing to me that there are actually folks out there that believe this kind of fairy tale and still go about their lives completely oblivious to reality...amazing...

[ES165]

I forgot to mention how much I agr4ee with Carrie that what needs to be done with gays is EXACTLY what IRan does. TRUTH!

[Kurt Stiefler]

Oh brother. This woman is a real air-head. Let's move on to something worth discussing, shall we?

[ERB]

Is this for real??? I thought I was chosen by GOD to be a selfish, hurtful and very stupid. Look at me, I am supposed to be the pageant winner...so much for self esteem blondie.

[WTL, Los Angeles]

"...makeup coaches, walking coaches, accent modification coaches...studied 500 questions."

And don't forget the breast implants.

Look, this contest is all about fakery. The women practice to be phonies, to look different than they are, walk different (even more important with bigger, heavier breasts, I imagine), talk different. 500 questions? That's all? What, is there a beauty pageant question book?

And despite all this falsity, this incredible inanity, this pettiness, God was watching this charade of humanity closely, and chose Prejean? This was all part of His plan? She was speaking for God?

I know His eye is on the sparrow and all, but really...with such blatant self-centeredness as this, such excessive pride and utterly unwarranted self-regard, people like Prejean mock God.

[James Bachmann]

Homosexuals do love each other, but it is a brotherly love, not a sexual love. If a government wants to put brotherly love on a par with marital love, then it has a right to do so, according to the democratic process. Let's not confuse the terms, however. Civil unions make more sense than same-sex marriages.

[Iloveusa]

She is right!!

[mtnthc]

Really?... God choose you, wow, your God is an awesome God.

[elegabalus]

If God chose Prejean to answer the question, that means the deity must have also picked Perez Hilton to ask the question. Who would have thought that Perez Hilton was doing God's work?

[cam]

She believes homosexuality is wrong. She didn't say anything about hating gays or gay bashing. She has her views and that should be respected. Just like gays have rights to be gay. She doesn't have to like what you wear or how you speak or what car you drive. She can hate all those things, just like she hates your sexual orientation.

[Peg]

Oh yeah, because God spends his/her time thinking about "beauty queens." Delusional, much Carrie? Like thinking your artifical boobs look good?

[Zach]

Not that I have a huge amount of respect for beauty pageants or anything, but I also don't have a huge amount of respect for someone who would be happy denying one group of adults the same rights as the rest of us. If you don't like it, then don't get one. Simple.

[Jim W]

Josh said: "People who have bigoted, hate-based, outdated and discriminatory "values" deserve public ridicule and harassment. Its the natural process through which society heals itself by marginalizing the cancerous elements which seek to bring us back to the dark ages."

Josh, you said it so well. You expressed the utter frustration I feel when I hear the preachings of these religious cookoos who truly and deeply hate us for simply being who we are in the natural order of things.

[Dan]

The girl has the guts... Donald Trump? I think not...

[RealPerson]

Carrie Prejean,
OK, so the gays are entitled to their beliefs. And I guess they are entitled to attack others whose beliefs differs from the gays. Fine. Let the homosexuals and their apologists rant on. At least you did and said what you thought to be correct. You have the right to do it and anyone who attacks you for you exercising your rights is worse by far than what they accuse you of being.

To all the gays and lesbians, please just go back to your business. You do not have to behave like red ants, attacking anyone who walks near your little den of iniquity. Oh, and rest assured that God has a plan for you too and that you are not going to like it one little bit.

[Peter Rabbits]

God chose her to be a lingerie model with a boob job to further his (0r her) message? God does work in mysterious ways.

[Richard Bruce]

Vanessa Williams probably won more fame after losing her crown than any Miss America that has come along since then. Now Carrie Prejean has probably won more fame from losing her crown as Miss California than any recent Miss California. Vanessa lost her crown because of some nude pictures, this probably made her a hero to some of the cultural left. Carrie Prejean has lost her crown because of her beliefs on gay marriage which made her a hero to the cultural right. Neither the cultural right or left has any respect for beauty contests. I agree with both the cultural left and right on that. But it is interesting that the greatest prize is probably to win a crown and then loose it, not to win the crown and keep it.
We might ask ourselves however should we be using beauty contests as a political football. I might answer, sure, why not, beauty contests are worthless anyway.

[Jack Meoph]

wow, chosen by God. That must make your cockles warm in the evenings of self doubt.

[steve rodriguez]

Long Live Carrie Prejean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jaso guy]

I think she's hot. leave the hot lady alone. That's her belief so you guys don't have to agree with her. But why so much hate from gay community? I thought gay community was about tolerating the indifference. no? Then I have to start believing that gay people are bunch of haters.

[jbroce]

I love how christians are expected to be perfect by everyone EXCEPT the one person we hold our beliefs for... God. Christians admit we're imperfect more then anyone of you will ever do, we just happen to have a set of beliefs we strive to meet, while sometimes falling short. If we were perfect we wouldnt NEED God, or that dude Jesus you might have heard of. If you ever meet a christian who claims to be perfect without a past...well then they arent really a christian. Go read John 8: 1-11 for all you people who like to throw things in christians faces on their pasts and mistakes. And just something for thought since you people want to point out breast implants as something "sinful" which i cant for the life of me figure out why. Any of you get braces because your teeth were just crooked? thats a cosmetic surgery people. You dont NEED straight teeth. And for the record, we dont hate homosexuals we hate homosexuality. Just like i dont hate you people, just the evil vile attacks youre spewing. Hate the sin, not the sinner.

[RA. Kisela]

I really have 2000% support to Prejean.

She is truly beauty peagent of the GREAT KINGDOM on EARTH and HEAVEN.

She has shown her quality and beauty mind and heart and soul

CONGRATULATION.... YOU ARE OUR QUEEN, don't go to SODOM and GOMORAH like others

[RA. Kisela]

I stand by you... although thousand miles away from your place.

You are truly HEART AND SOUL beauty. you absolutely know what you are doing.
I can see you are wearing the CROWN now and forever

THIS CROWN IS SPECIAL.

We were taught by any parents at very beginning mariage is definetely between MAN AND WOMAN,and that's why we came to this world, and absolutely not from man who married man ?

[LAwoman]

she is soooo teed. can we please stop giving her publicity so she can go back to "doing God's work" in the shadows...please dear LATimes stop fueling this ridiculous Bible toting right-wing idiocy... and ps. i love how proponents of Christianity choose SOME but not all of "God's written word" to follow.. I mean the overwhelming message in the Bible is love thy neighbor and ONLY God can judge...but I guess Ms.Prejean and her likeness didn't manage to grasp that message...smh!

[Jerome Cleary]

Oh and did God also choose Carrie Prejean to get breast implants and choose her to not win the pageant?

[durendal]

In the American theocratic, you can't abstain from to use "God" to anything !
You are same the Talibans or the Iranian Mollahs, fanatics religious !

[Phuzzy]

The fact that American society has become so politically correct that it is politically incorrect to have an opinion, is the only logical outcome of leftist thinking (or should I say the absolute absence of thinking that masquerades as liberal thinking.) The political left has become the new right and their heads are so full of jello they can't even see it.

[Mio Pinion]

Are intolerance and hatred always ugly. Would those who call gay intolerance ugly and hatred, say that all intolerance is hatred? What about pedophiles, should we tolerate their sexual preference? If you say no, then the question is not about intolerence. It is about whether their is justification for it. If intolerance is wrong, what about the intolerant attitude of the homosexual community? ISN'T IT JUST AS UGLY?

If intolerance is always wrong then don't becomea Christian. Was Jesus intolerate of the money changers he drove out of the temple wrong? Is GOD's intolerance of sin wrong? It is not wrong to be intolerant. It is wrong to be intolerant without justification. The Christian'd source of justification is the Bible. Until GOD tolerates homosexuality or approves it, it will remain a sin to Christians.

Does this mean we should go Gay Bashing? NO! It does mean we shoud speak out aginst it as long as GOD condemns it. It should be done with love for the jeopardized soul or as is often said "Hate the sin not the sinner".

[Ricardo]

Not only is Carrie a beautiful lady, she's got brains too. Marriage is ONLY between a man and a woman. The rest is civilian union but not marriage. Kudos for Carrie!!!

[Bill From Up On The Hill]

I don't have a problem with Carrie Prejean expressing her opinion on gay marriage, but for heaven's sake, do Christians have to pick such low hanging fruit for inspiration? If being a Christian means having to applaud someone like her and swallow every word, I'm ready to pack it in.

[Sharon]

Carrie Prejean is SUCH a hypocrite!