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Ms. California: Koreatown Girl Sues After Crown Taken Away
Remember back in December when due to "human error" in tallying the votes, the crown that was placed on the head of Koreatown's Christina Silva, aka Miss Los Angeles, was placed on the head of Miss Barstow Raquel Beezley making her the winner in the all-important Miss California pageant?
Now Silva is seeking $500.000 in a lawsuit over damages of public humiliation and lost prizes citing foul play of rigging the contest and using race as a factor of who won, according to the AP.
Silva is of Ecuadorean and Mexican descent. The lawsuit claims [that pageant's executive director, Keith] Lewis was "uncomfortable with the fact that Miss Silva spoke Spanish with certain vendors; he felt that it may detract from the caliber of the pageant and some of the 'all American girls' may not opt to compete in the following year." Silva alleges that Lewis, the pageant, its producer K2 Productions and the Miss Universe Organization engaged in fraud, negligence, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other charges.
Photo by Damian Dovarganes/AP
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