Miss Universe Paulina Vega refuses to give up her crown
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) – The reigning Miss Universe refused to relinquish her crown despite a tide of condemnation following pageant owner Donald Trump’s remarks on Mexican immigrants.
Paulina Vega said Monday she would continue doing the organization’s social work and dismissed Trump’s accusation she is a hypocrite for condemning his recent comments but declining to step down as Miss Universe.
“The fact that I am not giving up my crown doesn’t mean that I am changing my stance about everything I said,” the Colombian beauty said in her native country during an interview with radio station La W. “It doesn’t make any sense that Donald Trump calls me a hypocrite because I’m not giving up my crown.”
In his June presidential campaign announcement, Trump said some Mexican immigrants to the United States bring drugs and crime, and some are rapists.
On Sunday, a few days after Vega called his remarks “unjust and hurtful,” Trump tweeted: “Miss Universe, Paulina Vega, criticized me for telling the truth about illegal immigration, but then said she would keep the crown – Hypocrite.”
“As a Colombian and as Miss Universe, I want to show my support and validate the sentiments of the Latin community,” Vega said on her Instagram account last week.
Vega, 22, won the 2014 Miss Universe pageant last January in Miami.
Pressure on her to quit increased over the past several days, with Colombia retiring its bid to host the event and Mexico announcing it won’t be sending any candidate to the competition.
Univision also cut its ties with Trump and all of his enterprises, and Colombian superstar Shakira, in reference to the tycoon’s comments, tweeted “no one living in this century should stand behind so much ignorance.”
Vega, born in Barranquilla, stressed to the radio station the Miss Universe pageant existed long before Trump acquired it and “it will continue to exist if he stops being its owner some day.”
“I have kept doing my job as Miss Universe all these days. The work continues as always despite all this craziness going on,” she said.