LOS ANGELES — Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler resigned as co-executive director of the Miss California USA pageant on Wednesday, saying she no longer believes in the organization because of pageant owner Donald Trump’s decision to let the state’s controversial titleholder keep her crown.
After Miss California USA Carrie Prejean created a stir with her response to a question about gay marriage at last month’s Miss USA pageant, questions about her work with gay-marriage opponents and nearly nude photos taken of her when she was a teenager put her title in jeopardy.
At a news conference Monday, Moakler angrily accused Prejean of violating the contract she signed with pageant organizers, but Trump announced Tuesday that Prejean would keep her title.
Moakler, Miss USA in 1995, said she decided after Trump’s news conference to quit.
“I want to be a role model for young women with high hopes of pageantry but now feel it more important to be a role model for my children,” she said.
Trump’s senior executive assistant, Rhona Graff-Ricci, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
