Dethroned Miss California Files Lawsuit on Eve of Miss USA Pageant

Posted on: April 11th, 2008 by: Meg

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or in this case dethroned. Christina Silva was crowned Miss California on November 25, 2007. Three days later she was informed by pageant officials that there had been a mistake. Citing human error, they informed Silva that the actual winner was Raquel Beezley.

The pageant’s state director, Keith Lewis, said several judges questioned the results of the November 25 competition at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. Lewis said the error was discovered the next day after the ballots were opened and recounted. After the recount, it was determined that Silva was in fact 2nd runner up.

The dethroned Miss California filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court today asking for $500,000 in damages for public humiliation, mental anguish and distress, lost opportunities, lost prizes and lost monies. While she was filing suit, the reigning Miss California, Raquel Beezley was in Las Vegas getting ready to compete for the title of Miss USA. The pageant airs on NBC on Friday night.

Check out the Los Angeles Superior Court Filing here.

We’ve got more photos below.