Newly-crowned Miss Texas under fire for anti-Semitic comments
>
The newly crowned Miss Texas USA came under fire just days after being crowned for an allegedly anti-Semitic comment she made.
The comment resurfaced online, leading some activists to question why she, Allison Drake, 26, was not disciplined and why the organization did not address the issue.
Drake became the new title holder last week after previous winner R’Bonney Gabriel won the Miss Universe title in January, vacating her previous position.
Organization officials said the first runner-up declined the spot, leaving Allie next in line.
Drake, however, barely went a day before coming under fire from Jewish influencer Lizzy Savetsky, who shared a video with her nearly 225,000 followers exposing the newly crowned winner for allegedly making a bawdy Holocaust joke to a fellow contestant. .
Jewish influencer Lizzy Savetsky (right) criticized newly crowned Miss Texas Allie Drake (left) for an anti-Semitic comment she allegedly made
The comment was shared on Instagram by a fellow contestant and read: ‘@alliejdrake gives me the best compliment. ‘You look like Anne Frank coming out of the Holocaust’, Lmaooo. Proud of you.’
Savetsky said the comment was an irresponsible use of the contestant’s organization and platform.
‘As a former pageant girl, I was third runner-up to Miss Teen Texas in 2002, I know that with that title comes a lot of responsibility. When you enter a contest and win a crown, you become a role model,” she said.
Young girls look up to you. You have to be so cautious and calculating with the messages you post and whether you like it or not, you have a profound influence on impressionable minds.
“This was an extremely irresponsible use of a platform by someone who is beaming proudly and wearing a crown, not to mention the fact that much of what he said was not only hateful and ignorant, but simply not real.” Savetsky continued.
In response to the incident, the Miss Texas USA organization said they were aware of the comment, but do not believe Drake made it.
The Miss Texas USA organization and the Miss Universe Organization are aware of an anti-Semitic comment that was posted on social media in July 2022, alleging it was made by Allison Drake.
According to an affidavit, this comment was not made by our current Miss Texas USA, Allison Drake. The Miss Texas USA organization denounces and condemns anti-Semitism, racism, bigotry and all forms of discrimination,” she said.
The Miss USA organization said it has an affidavit from Drake that she did not make the Holocaust joke.
Drake, 26, became Miss Texas last week after previous winner R’Bonney Gabriel won the Miss Universe title in January, vacating her previous position.
Organization officials said the first runner-up turned down the spot, leaving Allie next in line.
Savetsky’s position is that regardless of whether Drake made the comment or not, the Miss Texas USA Organization could have used the incident as a teachable moment, but did not.
The latest episode of pageant controversy comes about a month after Gabriel, a controversial figure herself, was crowned Miss Universe in New Orleans.
Gabriel’s final win followed a controversy at the Miss USA pageant that Gabriel’s win had been rigged. The American contestants said at the time that Gabriel’s win had been the result of “favouritism”.
The legitimacy of her victory was also questioned by other contestants who said it was suspicious that a beauty treatment company that offers a price to the winner would feature Gabriel in an advertisement less than 24 hours after she won.
Gabriel appeared in an ad for NIZUC spas less than 24 hours after he won the Miss USA pageant, leading other competitors to believe the pageant had been rigged from the start.
Miss Montana Heather Lee O’Keefe claimed the ads showed the winner was chosen unfairly: “@MissUSA was crowned less than 24 hours ago but already got her sponsored vacation at @NIZUCResort,” she wrote.
Savetsky, a former pageant girl, said the comments were an opportunity for the Miss USA organization to have a teachable moment, but she didn’t rise to the occasion.
“As a former pageant girl, I was third runner-up to Miss Teen Texas in 2002, I know that comes with a lot of responsibility with that title,” Savetsky said.
“When you enter a contest and win a crown, you become a role model,” Savetsky added.
Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel became the ninth Miss USA to win the world pageant in its 71-year history
Adding, ‘Are you kidding? I was giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, but this is embarrassing right now.
In her defense, Gabriel claimed that she was a brand ambassador for NIZUC’s affiliate company, MIA Beaute, which also sponsors the Miss Texas pageant and was opening a new spa at the NIZUC resort in Mexico.
However, the doubters didn’t necessarily buy the excuse, pointing out that the MIA founder is one of the judges in the Miss USA competition. O’Keefe claimed that Gabriel’s ambassadorship was a violation of the manual and that no contestant should have been allowed to work with Miss USA’s national sponsors.
The controversy continued to escalate for Gabriel when a photo circulated of Crystle Stewart, one of the organizers of Miss USA, doing Gabriel’s hair backstage. The image served as further fodder for the claim of favoritism.
However, Gabriel said the photo was taken the day after the coronation, just before the official Miss USA photos.