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 Miss Michigan Elisabeth Crawford hopes to win all three at tonight's celebrity-driven Miss USA pageant.
If Elisabeth Crawford of Canton walks away with the tiara on tonight's NBC broadcast of the Miss USA pageant, she knows what comes next. The winner moves to an apartment in New York City, does interviews with the likes of Jay Leno and travels to Vietnam for rehearsals to compete in Miss Universe. "It's literally overnight, you become a celebrity," says the 25-year-old Miss Michigan USA. Well, not always. In a post-feminist world, big-name pageants have lost some of their star power. The telecasts often aren't treated as major TV events. The winner of the sash and crown doesn't necessarily become a household name. But lately, the buzz is back. Pageants were big news locally in January when Kirsten Haglund of Farmington Hills nabbed the Miss America title.
There's also been huge publicity generated by incidents connected to the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss USA contest and is co-owned by Donald Trump, a master at keeping himself and his ventures in the news. Talked-about items from last year include: • The second chance Trump gave Miss USA Tara Conner after reports of her partying surfaced, and the feud that erupted after Rosie O'Donnell criticized his handling of the matter. • The video clip of Miss Teen South Carolina flubbing the question-and-answer portion of the Miss Teen USA pageant. It became an Internet phenomenon, racking up millions of hits on YouTube. • The stumble that landed the current Miss USA, Rachel Smith, on her bottom during the evening gown portion of the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico, and the booing she endured during the interview portion. • Complaints from Miss Puerto Rico of severe itching and hives during the Miss Universe pageant that led to claims her evening gown was sabotaged with pepper spray. All attention is good attention in today's media-obsessed pop culture. And tonight's pageant, broadcast live from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, has some attention-getting aspects lined up. The panel of judges is scheduled to include Heather Mills, whose messy divorce from Paul McCartney has kept her in the celebrity headlines (most recently for allegedly dumping water on McCartney's attorney's head), and Christian Siriano, the fiercely quotable winner of the latest edition of "Project Runway." Marie and Donny Osmond will be the hosts, hot on the heels of her renewed pop-icon status for competing (and fainting) on last season's "Dancing with the Stars." "We're about modern women and we're a modern TV show," says Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, who says Miss USA has evolved to stay relevant to today's pop culture. Shugart is well aware of the scrutiny the pageant has drawn in the media and on the Web. Some people may tune in "because you never know what's going to happen, and that's OK." She says Miss USA isn't about being perfect. "These are real women with real foibles," she emphasizes. "These are real people you can relate to." /freep.com
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