Disturbing Details About Donald Trump's Time As Miss Universe Pageant Owner

Before Donald Trump's transformation into president, he was a real estate mogul and reality TV personality with the hit show "The Apprentice." But he also got involved in a number of other ventures. From steaks to fragrances to his own modeling agency, Trump put his name on all kinds of products, and he was also a co-owner of the Miss Universe organization, which includes the Miss Universe Pageant as well as the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, just one of the things you may not have known about Trump. 

For some background on the pageant, Miss USA dates back to the 1950s, when it was first a swimwear contest, and Miss USA is separate from the Miss America pageant, which has its own sketchy history. Trump bought the pageant in 1996, and he owned it until 2015. From walking into dressing rooms as contestants were changing to getting the show dropped from its long-time networks after comments about Hispanic people, Trump's time as the head of the beauty pageants included a number of upsetting moments.

On the milder end of sus behavior by Trump, it seemed that even though he wasn't a judge, he had a role in choosing the top contestants. Kerrie Baylis competed as Miss Jamaica in 2013, and she talked to The New Yorker about the power that Trump apparently wielded. She said that when it came to the finalists, "the list looked like the countries that Donald Trump did business with, or wanted to do business with."

One of the most discomforting moments about Donald Trump's time as a Miss Universe owner was when he would visit the dressing rooms for the young women and even girls during the pageants as they were getting ready. We say girls because some contestants at the Miss Teen USA pageant said it happened to them.

When on Howard Stern's radio show in 2005, Trump bragged about his access to the women. "And everyone is getting dressed and ready, and everything else and then there are no men or anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it. ... 'Is everyone okay? Is everybody okay? And you see this incredible-looking women. And so I sort of get away with things like that," via Roll Call.

This was confirmed by a number of the women at the pageants. Samantha Holvey was Miss North Carolina in 2006, and she said that Trump "would step in front of each girl and look you over from head to toe like we were just meat, we were just sexual objects, that we were not people," Holvey explained to CNN. "You know when a gross guy at the bar is checking you out? It's that feeling." It's something that Tasha Dixon, who competed as Miss Arizona in 2001, also experienced; she said that Trump came in while she and other contestants were partially or completely naked. And Mariah Billado, Miss Teen Vermont in 1997, told Buzzfeed News that she and other girls were changing when Trump came in; "'I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, 'Oh my god, there's a man in here,'" Billado said.

Alicia Machado was 19 years old when she represented Venezuela in the 1996 Miss Universe competition, and she won. Trump kept an eye on her, and when Machado gained weight after winning, he referred to her as "Miss Piggy," via Inside Edition. Machado said that his comments and behavior led her to disordered eating in the years after her win. Hillary Clinton brought up Machado at the first presidential debate in 2016, and she noted that Trump also used to call Machado "Miss Housekeeping," seemingly as a slur, according to The Guardian.

Trump defended his comments on "Fox and Friends" the day after the debate. He doubled down on Machado as problematic and said she was "the worst we ever had...She gained a massive amount of weight. It was a real problem," via Fox News.

The year before the debate with Clinton, Trump's remarks about Mexicans during his first bid for the presidency led to the end of his co-ownership of the pageant with NBCUniversal. In a speech, Trump said, "They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people, but I speak to border guards and they tell us what we are getting," per BBC News. In response, Univision refused to air the Miss USA pageant and NBC followed suit. Trump sued NBC and, in the settlement, he bought out NBCUniversal's shares. He then sold it to WME/IMG.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).