Miss California Carrie Prejean's view on gay marriage has angered blogger Perez Hilton (inset). Photos / AP
Self-proclaimed gossip queen
Perez Hilton
has entered into a bitter war of words with a pageant princess over her anti-same sex marriage stance.
Miss California Carrie Prejean
, a US beauty pageant hopeful, has sparked controversy with her comments about gay marriage - and attracted the wrath of celebrity gossip blogger Hilton (real name
Mario Armando Lavandeira
).
Prejean, 21, competed at the Miss USA competition on Sunday (Monday NZT), televised from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Miss North Carolina USA Kristen Dalton
stole the crown at the event, beating out 50 other beauty queens, but runner-up Prejean has stolen her limelight, for all the wrong reasons...
Beauty bonanza
The normally scandal-free beauty-bonanza came a cropper when Miss California was asked by contest judge Hilton whether she believed in gay marriage.
"
Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalise same-sex marriage,"
he said. "
Do you think every state should follow suit, why or why not?
"
This is the bit where the beauty queen hopefuls normally drone on about striving for world peace, curing cancer, and battling for truth, justice and the American way.
The tall blonde composed herself, and appeared to trip over her words at first, before sharing her opinion on the subject.
"Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other," she said.
"
We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage
," she continued.
"You know what, in my country, in my family,
I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offence to anybody out there.
"
But that's how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you
."
She went on to come in second to Miss North Carolina.
Her comments attracted a mixed response from the audience. Some cheered, others booed. Hilton, on the other hand, was spitting tacks. The openly gay gossip blogger called her response "the worst answer in pageant history".
He later posted an impassioned video blog on his website, saying: "She lost not because she doesn't believe in gay marriage, she lost because she's a dumb bitch!"
Hilton is of the opinion Prejean should have been more diplomatic with her answer.
He suggested she should have replied with, "Perez, that's a great question and that's a very hot topic in our country right now.
"I think it's a question that each state should answer for themselves because that's our forefathers designed our government.
"The states rule themselves and then there are certain laws that are federal."
In the same video blog, he offered an insight into what he would have done had Miss California been crowned the pageant queen.
"I would have gone up on stage - I s*** you not - and snatched that tiara off her head and run out the door," he said. "I would probably have been arrested. But so be it. I need a cocktail now."
Sorry
Hilton later apologised for calling her a b****, offering to keep the peace and take her out for a coffee to "talk."
But in typical Hilton fashion, he's made an about face today and retracted the apology.
"Yeah, I'm taking my apology back! I stand by calling her a dumb b****, just like she's standing by her words from yesterday too," he wrote on his Twitter page.
"I was floored," Hilton told ABCNews.com. "I haven't said this before, but to her credit, I applaud her for her honesty. However, she is not a politician, she's a hopeful Miss USA. Miss USA should represent everyone. Her answer alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters."
Prejean's comments also sparked outrage behind the scenes at the event.
"It's ugly," said Scott Ihrig to foxnews.com, a gay man, who attended the pageant with his partner. "I think it's ridiculous that she got first runner-up. That is not the value of 95 per cent of the people in this audience. Look around this audience and tell me how many gay men there are."
While Charmaine Koonce, the mother of Miss New Mexico USA Bianca Carla, fired back with her own opinion.
"In the Bible it says marriage is between Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve!"
It cost me my crown
Runner-up Prejean believes her opinions on same-sex marriage may have cost her the Miss USA crown. But she says she stands by what she said.
In an interview with
, she says: "It did cost me my crown.
"I wouldn't have had it any other way. I said what I feel. I stated an opinion that was true to myself and that's all I can do."
"It is a very touchy subject and he [Hilton] is a homosexual and I see where he was coming from and I see the audience would've wanted me to be more politically correct," she added. "But I was raised in a way that you can never compromise your beliefs and your opinions for anything."
Keith Lewis, who runs the Miss California competition, has offered his take on the controversy.
"As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman.
"I believe all religions should be able to ordain what unions they see fit. I do not believe our government should be able to discriminate against anyone and religious beliefs have no politics in the Miss California family."
My own beliefs
The twist in the tale is that Prejean's sister is a gay rights activist.
Prejean tells
Access
, "My sister is a second lieutenant in the Air Force and she is a gay rights activist," she revealed. Before adding that her sister is not gay.
"No. She supports gay people, she supports gay marriage. My beliefs have nothing to do with my sister or my mom, or whatever."
She says her sister was not offended by her comments on the show.
"She was just in my hotel room and she said, ‘Sis, I'm not offended by anything that you said. We have two different opinions and I love you because of it. I love you because you stood up for what was right, and it's not a matter of being gay or not gay, it's a matter of you competing for Miss USA and getting a question and answering it to the best of your ability."
Face-off
Video: Prejean and Hilton's face-off at the Miss USA pageant
For the record, we don't agree with Prejean's stance by any stretch of the imagination. But we respect her right to have an opinion. We just don't agree with it. Period.
What do you think of Miss California's comments? Controversial, or merely voicing an honest opinion?
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Pictured: Miss California Carrie Prejean and, inset, Perez Hilton. Photos / AP
She wanted to keep things under wraps, but got very excited.