Miss Pennsylvania Quits Over Transgender Decision, Says Contest is Rigged

After the Miss Universe organization announced that the competition is open to transgender women, Miss Pennsylvania returned her crown, saying the contest is "rigged."

Sheena Monnin, Miss Pennsylvania, wrote on Facebook that she no longer wanted to be part of the competition because the judges had already chosen the top 5 finalists before the telecast on Sunday evening. "In my heart I believe in honesty, fair play, a fair opportunity, and high moral integrity, none of which in my opinion are part of this pageant system any longer," she wrote according to the Associated Press.

Donald Trump, who runs the Miss Universe Organization, said Monin's claims were false and threatened to sue Monin for making publicly false claims.

Meanwhile pageant organizers said Monin actually resigned because of the decision to allow transgender contestants into the competition after a row with Jenna Talackova, a transgender Miss Universe Canada contender. Still, Trump disputes that, even though one of the pageant organizers has email evidence of Monin's problem.

"I don’t think that she had an issue with that," Trump said. "I think her primary issue is that she lost and she’s angry about losing. And frankly, in my opinion, I saw her barely a second and she didn’t deserve to be in the top 15."