Prejean said the photos -- taken when she was 17 and aspiring to be a Victoria's Secret model -- were being used in a "vicious and mean-spirited" effort to silence her for "defending traditional marriage. The year-old Miss USA contestant has been the center of controversy since she declared her opposition to same-sex marriage in a response to a question on the pageant stage last month. Her fate was being discussed in "closed-door meetings" Tuesday among California pageant officials, lawyers and representatives of Donald Trump, who owns the international competition, said Miss California USA spokesman Roger Neal. The spokesman for Miss California USA provided CNN with a copy of the pageant contract Prejean signed last year agreeing that the discovery of semi-nude photos could mean disqualification. One photo published Monday on a Web site -- The Dirty -- showed barely more skin than the bikini Prejean wore in the pageant's swimsuit competition. While she appears topless, she was turned away from the camera with her arm covering most of her breast.


Pageant spokesman Roger Neal said Tuesday it appears Prejean has run afoul of several sections of the page contract that all prospective contestants were required to sign before competing in the November state contest. The detailed document prohibits the titular Miss California from making personal appearances, giving interviews or making commercials without permission from pageant officials. In the last 10 days, Prejean has made televised appearances at her San Diego church and on behalf of the National Organization for Marriage, a group opposed to same-sex marriage. The contract also contains a clause asking participants to say whether they have conducted themselves "in accordance with the highest ethical and moral standards. A copy of the contract bearing Prejean's signature and dated Nov. It has the "true" box checked under a section that reads, "I acknowledge that, by way of example, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing in any way, having appeared in public or permitted myself to be photographed in a state of partial or total nudity or in a lewd, compromising or sexually suggestive manner constitutes a violation of this provision. A photo of Prejean wearing only pink panties with her back turned to the camera appeared Monday on the gossip blog theDirty. She issued a statement early Tuesday saying she posed for the shot when she was a year-old model and objected to its release as an attempt to belittle her religious faith: "I am a Christian, and I am a model.
The directors of the Miss California USA pageant are currently looking into whether Prejean violated the page contract all contestants are required to sign before the November state contest. The document prohibits whoever holds the title of Miss California from making personal appearances, granting interviews or making commercials without permission from pageant officials and gives the pageant's directors the right to revoke her crown for breaching any of the document's provisions. Since being chosen runner-up at the Miss USA pageant, Prejean has made televised appearances at her San Diego church and on behalf of the National Organization for Marriage, a group that is opposed to same-sex marriage. Last week when Prejean was in Washington to announce her support for the new ad, Keith Lewis, co-director of the California contest, expressed concern to The Associated Press.
Pageant spokesman Roger Neal said Tuesday that it appears Prejean has run afoul of several sections of the contract that prospective contestants were required to sign. The detailed document prohibits the titular Miss California from making personal appearances, giving interviews or making commercials without permission from pageant officials. In the last 10 days, Prejean has made televised appearances on behalf of the National Organization for Marriage, a group opposed to same-sex marriage. A photo of Prejean wearing only pink panties with her back turned to the camera appeared Monday on the gossip blog theDirty. She issued a statement early Tuesday saying she posed for the shot while as a year-old model and objecting to its release as an attempt to belittle her Christian faith.