Miss USA Contestants Fuming and Claiming 2022 Pageant Was Rigged

Laura Acosta
·2 min read
6

IG/Miss USA

The world of pageants often seems like a mysterious one to outsiders, but after a series of TikTok videos from one contestant, many have been sucked into a spiral of speculation about the results of the latest Miss USA competition.

After the finale, some Miss USA contestants questioned the results of the pageant, claiming there was never a chance for them to win over Miss Texas, R'Bonney Gabriel, who is also the first Filipina American to win the Miss USA title.

In a now-viral moment, several of those who watched the broadcast from home commented on Gabriel's subdued reaction to her win, which stood in stark contrast to the often emotional celebrations of many pageant queens.

The other contestants promptly left the stage, rather than staying behind to congratulate the winner as is typically the norm, leaving many wondering if something was amiss.

After the show, Miss Montana, Heather Lee O'Keefe, aired her grievances in a TikTok Live and a series of videos, which further pushed speculation over the win.

"Most of the Miss USA contestants feel very strongly that there was favoritism towards Miss Texas USA and we have the receipts to prove it," O'Keefe claims.

Miss New York, Heather Nuñez, also expressed her own beliefs about the end result via her Instagram stories.

"I entered this pageant and gave it every last bit of my heart and soul… We were humiliated, thinking we entered something with a fair chance," she wrote.

Among the alleged "receipts" is Gabriel's trip to NIZUC Spa, a facility where the winner of Miss USA is given treatments as part of their prize—however, the spa's Instagram story showed Gabriel at the spa nine weeks before the pageant even took place.

However, Gabriel has since come forward and addressed some of the speculations that she did not win fairly in an interview with E! News.

"I would never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win," she stated. "I have a lot of integrity."

IG/Heather Nuñez

Gabriel also explained that she traveled on her own dime to shoot a promotional video with the spa, which was also a sponsor of her Miss Texas competition—but the video wasn't released until after she'd been crowned Miss USA.