Subscribe to Breaking NewsRuby-Sachs: Prejean Fired, But Not For The Right Reasons
Yesterday, Carrie Prejean, poster child for the National Organization for Marriage and the newly conservative California, was fired.
When told of her firing by the celebrity radio host Billy Bush, Prejean insisted it was because of her answer to Perez Hilton’s gay marriage question during the pageant: “”It’s just because of my answer, I think. None of this would be happening right now if I just said, ‘Yeah, gays should get married. You’re right Perez Hilton.’”
If only that were true.
The press release issues by the Miss California and Miss Universe organizations states that the firing is, “based solely on contract violations including Ms. Prejean’s unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA Organization.” Since Prejean maintained her crown after the nude pictures surfaced and after Shanna Moakler resigned in protest, it is unlikely that her answer in the original pageant is the root of this dismissal.
And that’s the problem.
I know California is a great disappointment to progressive and liberal minded people everywhere, and polls show it’s split down the middle on issues of gay rights, but having someone who holds bigoted and discriminatory views as a figure head for a state is unacceptable.
Sure, at the end of the day, the right girl is now Miss California. But the decision was made too late and for the wrong reasons. In the same way that racism is not tolerated in world of celebrity and politics (when it is recognized, mind you), homophobia should not be appropriate for those appointed to “represent” a state or community.
I’m thriled to see the end of Prejean (please let this be the end of Prejean), but expect better from the Miss Universe corporation (yes, I have expectations of a beauty pagenat business).
Some good news I haven’t seen widely reported is that Shanna Moakler is back with Miss California USA, now that Prejean is gone.
De-humanizing us in violation of her contract, that is.
The real outrage is not that Prejean was de-throned for “…unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA Organization,” but that she was NOT let go for the incident over which Shanna Moakler resigned. Prejean used her reputation, albeit implicitly, to advance a political opinion without express permission from the Miss USA Organization. That she felt so strongly about opposing gay marriage that she would break her contractual obligations is what she should have been fired for. Firing her for not dancing like a monkey when they tell her to is ridiculous, since she wasn’t even censured for de-humanizing our community.
The end of Prejean as a model has arrived! I don’t foresee any modeling agency, designer or cosmetics company hiring the now ex Miss California.
Her career is finished. All that is left for her to do is become the official spokesperson for gay marriage opponents. They too will soon forget about her. Beauty queens that have stripped in pictures have no place in God’s world. She might be too tempting for conservative men. LOL!
Ms Prejean was fired for the correct reasons, as someone with her point of view, Homosexuals will be vilafied for her poor choices and inability to uphold her obligations as Miss California. She will blame everyone but herself. We’ve heard that before.
Miss Prejean has every right to her opinions – AS LONG AS SHE DOES NOT USE HER POSITION AS A REPRESENTATIVE FOR AN ENTIRE STATE to voice opinions which directly offend or undercut ANY portion of that state’s population.
Her job was to represent ALL of California. And that being the case, her POLITICAL OPINIONS are completely immaterial to the job. But once she chose to MAKE THOSE POSITIONS PUBLIC, she lost any right to claim title to job as ’spokesperson’.
Had she answered Hilton’s insipid question thusly: “Mr. Hilton, I am the representative of ALL Californians. Therefore, my personal feelings about issues that should rightly be outside the scope of this competition should – and must – remain private. I represent everyone – not just those on one or the other side of an issue that rightly has nothing to do with my duties.” – she would likely have won both a standing ovation AND the respect of both sides.
BUt when your job is an APOLLITICAL REPRESENTATIVE of EVERYONE – then leave your personal feelings and opinions where they belong – inside your head – and not plastered all over the media.
She got exactly what she deserved.
The old saying, “A leopard never changes its spot”, well, that is so true with Lil Miss Fake Boobs Prejean. She has her own twisted agenda and figured screw you I’ll do what I want to Mr. I’ll Save Your Ass Donald Trump. So now she’s back in the limelight whining big time that she was fired because of her opinion on same sex marriage. She’s digging her own grave on this one. Much like Anita Bryant an anti gay activist/beauty queen from Florida, Prejean has no future. It’s almost like a curse for those wanna be queens from a beauty pageant, you just don’t mess with the real queens.
Be that as it may…..anyone who doesn’t do the job they’re supposed to be doing can expect to be fired. I have no sympathy for them.
To the right wingers and conservatives, not that there’s much difference, if for example Prejean had uttered racist views or denigrated someone’s beliefs that are different than hers, do you really think she would have been able to keep her crown just because she was expressing her opinion? After all, its freedom of expression isn’t it?
Racism and anti-gay remarks are both discriminatory, there is NO difference even though people have a right to hold those opinions.
What I do I have a problem with is her blatant hypocrisy. On the one hand, she posed topless at 17 and now enters a beauty contest flaunting her flesh in revealing swimsuits yet….she claims she’s a student of the bible, a book that would be in conflict with her behavior, vanity aside that is what beauty pageants are all about.
How can she make such statements if she’s not living by her religious beliefs that she claims are based on scripture? That’s the problem with these religious wackos and extremists, they ignore a lot of what the bible states when it doesn’t suit them or their comfort zone, but deliberately select one or two verses to promote their intolerance, discrimination that can often turn into hate against an entire group of people, in fact the last group that can be legally discriminated against or used as the scapegoats for all of society’s ills. Words have consequences and as such can engender hatred with the power to influence others to commit violent acts, sometimes fatal acts as we have experienced in our community.
Nobody asked her for her religious beliefs and she had no reason to introduce it in responding to Perez Hiliton. All she should have said was yes or no. She raised religion in the way she responde, Hilton didn’t mention it. To those who question why a gay panelist should have been involved in a straight beauty pageant, why shouldn’t that be? Isn’t that implying that gay people have no eye for beauty considering the amount of beauty we bring to the arts, among other things? Next they’ll be saying that gays shouldn’t be fashion designers because the majority of their customers are straight women. Its absurd.
I’m with Robin. She was fired for the appropriate reason, for contractual misconduct. She should have been able to speak her mind and give her opinion. That said, people are always screaming about wanting free speech, but they don’t want to have to deal with the consequences. Free speech does not mean you can say whatever you want and others should not have the right to disagree with you. Also, those people who disagree have the right to disagree with you VERY loudly if they so choose. It’s called free speach. See how that works Miss Prejean?
Christina in AZ
“I know California is a great disappointment to progressive and liberal minded people everywhere, and polls show it’s split down the middle on issues of gay rights, but having someone who holds bigoted and discriminatory views as a figure head for a state is unacceptable.”
Remember Prejean does represent the views of half the electorate of the state. Your statement is prejudicial and only hurts the gay cause. It is like someone saying, “That as a gay man I cannot represent conservative Alabama.” Just because I have a different viewpoint than the majority, it does not make me less of an Alabamian. They fired her for the right reason, not following through on her contractual obligations.
It isn’t fair to fire her. Christians are entitled to special rights. Why should they have to fulfill contracts, especially when they would rather be doing commercials for God.
ROBIN: Emma Ruby-Sachs is probably the furthest-left of the more left-wing bloggers here. You’re wasting your time.
What Emma, it’s not good enough she’s been fired, you’re going to whine because she was fired for speaking her opinion????? No way should she had been fired for giving her opinion against gay marriage, she has a right to have that opinion, even if i don’t agree with it. I bet that had she had the opposite opinion and was subjected to abuse from the right, you would have been yelling leave her alone. She’s now gone, find something else to whine about.
Congratulations to Tammi Ferrell!
It won’t be the end of Prejean. Given NOM’s previous advertising campaigns, expect to see her whining in some commercial soon about how she was fired for her job for saying she opposed same-sex marriage.