AN EXPOSE VS. DONALD TRUMP

THE MISS UNIVERSE ORGANIZATION POST-PRODUCTION MEETING
By OverExposed (Canadian Fashion Designer and Makeup Artist)
Wardrobe Committee, Miss Universe 2009

Two days after the crowning of a new Miss Universe and a day before it finally leaves the Bahamas, the [Miss Universe Organization] called on a high level staff meeting behind closed doors in one of the Atlantis Resort's function rooms. The principal objective of the meeting: provide a post-production/post-event evaluation of the just concluded pageant. As a part of the "wardrobe crew" of this year's Miss Universe pageant, I had the privilege of joining the exclusive meeting and "in the interest of the truth," would now want to share with the public some of the things that I found out.

TRUMP AND MUO
Officers and staff of the MUO (including [President Paula Shugart]) aren't very happy with the way results are formulated year after year after year. Most of them feel really bad how pageant fans the world over react negatively to the MUO's supposed choices, especially since the final results declared on pageant night aren't exactly reflective of the real list that preliminary judges come up with. Paula even commented, "Pageant fans aren't blind. They have a good feel of who are in and who are not." She even feels for deserving contestants who get booted out by the so-called Trump ladies and has admitted to feeling very uncomfortable having to look at these ladies' supporters straight in the eye and give them an explanation for an obvious injustice. The fact that there were no Asians in this year's Final 15 made Paula shake her head in disappointment, saying, "There's just no way for us to deny that some of our results were somehow fixed. We could have at least had token spots." No matter how difficult, at the end of the day, Paula just chooses to stand by what her boss wants and be the pro that she is. Based on what I heard during the meeting, however, discontent over Trump's management of the MUO is growing.

TRUMP CARDS
No matter how hard they deny it or even cover up the existence of a Trump list, let it be said that Mr. Trump truly does a selection of his own favorites. This was thoroughly discussed during the meeting. In this year's edition of the pageant, five top 15 ladies were taken out of the list to give way to Mr. Trump's personal choices. Statuesque Ms. Vietnam Vo Hoang Yen was one of them. Even worse was the case of [Bianca Manalo of] the Philippines, [a country] which already had three delegates taken out of the semifinal list in the three editions of the Trump-organized Miss Universe pageant. India is another country that is slowly losing its steam as far as Mr. Trump is concerned. Mr. Trump once commented that Indian women are "way too smart and not very sexy."

IT'S ALL BUSINESS
While pageant fanatics may consider exclusion of their ladies as an act of racism or personal bias, the truth about the selection of Miss Universe winners under the Trump franchise is that this is all based on business. Check out the global footprint of the Trump Organization's Real Estate, Hotel, and Golf Club businesses. It will be easy to correlate their locations to the winners of his pageant. Aside from having these types of developments all over the USA, Mr. Trump has real estate projects in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic (it should no longer surprise you why Dominican Republic has been very successful in penetrating the top 5 almost yearly, with Amelia Vega as a recent winner); Toronto, Canada (of course Natalie's crown was a fitting "thank you"); Seoul, South Korea (Honey Lee's [third] runner-up finish was close); Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (okay, this is just so obvious - Puerto Rico's almost assured of a top 5 slot yearly); and Dubai, UAE (well he can't do much about this given the UAE's Muslim tradition). Other countries, which may be allotted regular spots in the Miss Universe final selection are: Panama (for Mr. Trump's projects in Panama City); Scotland (he's got developments in Aberdeen); and Turkey (to support his interests in Istanbul). Of course token spots may also be granted for Miss Universe sponsors, as in the cases of BSC (Thailand) and Mikimoto (Japan). To pageant fans, never ever forget that Mr. Trump is a businessman, A SHREWD ONE. As a business partner, I'd even say he's good. He know how to match a partner's generosity and kindness (quid pro quo) - and the easiest way for him is through the Miss Universe franchise.

I guess that's all I am allowed to share. You know how things are run in this pageant now. As for me, my job here's done - I guess. I've decided to tender my resignation after this whole thing is over. I am glad to have shared this with all of you.

~ from Missosology Miss Universe 2009 Forum

emphasis mine
- Geo R.