Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
What were the specific allegations made by former Miss Universe contestants against Trump?
Executive Summary
Former Miss Universe contestants and former pageant participants leveled multiple, specific allegations against Donald Trump across decades: claims include groping and attempts to lift dresses, entering dressing rooms where underage contestants were undressing, sustained public humiliation and derogatory racial/weight-based slurs (notably toward Alicia Machado), and other forms of exploitation tied to his ownership role. These allegations were reported repeatedly in 2016 and resurfaced or expanded in later reporting through 2024, with Trump and his campaign consistently denying the claims while some accounts cite corroborating evidence like contemporaneous remarks and documentation [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. Grabbing, groping and attempted dress-lifts: multiple women tell similar physical-misconduct stories
Several former contestants assert that Trump engaged in direct physical misconduct, including groping and attempts to lift skirts during private encounters. Ninni Laaksonen, a former Miss Finland, says he “grabbed my butt” during a 2006 photo shoot, an allegation presented as one of multiple assault claims [1]. Beatrice Keul, a former Miss Switzerland contestant, alleges a 1993 meeting at the Plaza Hotel where Trump “grabbed her body everywhere” and tried to lift her dress; Keul provided travel documents and photos to support her timeline [3]. Stacey Williams and other models have made similar claims dating to the early 1990s, forming a pattern of contemporaneous accusations that span decades and include detailed recollections tied to specific encounters [3] [1].
2. Entering dressing rooms and minors exposed: former teens recount feeling unsafe
Multiple former Miss Teen USA and Miss USA contestants alleged that Trump entered dressing rooms while contestants — in some accounts as young as 15 — were partially or fully undressed. Mariah Billado and three other 1997 teen contestants confirmed an account that Trump entered the Miss Teen USA dressing room, and Tasha Dixon alleged Trump entered a 2001 Miss USA dressing room where girls were topless or naked [2] [6]. These stories gained corroborative context from Trump’s own 2005 Howard Stern comments, where he boasted about accessing dressing rooms as pageant owner, which reporters and former contestants pointed to as supporting the plausibility of their claims [2]. The allegations frame concerns about power, access and the vulnerability of underage participants within owner-run pageant environments.
3. Public humiliation and racial/weight-based slurs: the Alicia Machado case
Alicia Machado, Miss Universe 1996, alleges repeated public humiliation tied to weight gain after her win: being called “Miss Piggy,” “Miss Housekeeping,” mocked for her English, and subjected to a staged public workout, which Machado says contributed to long-term eating disorders [4] [5] [7]. Machado also alleges nonpayment for promotional work, and her story has been cited repeatedly in political debates and media reporting since 1997. These allegations emphasize psychological and reputational harm rather than physical assault and are corroborated by multiple interviews and contemporaneous reporting from the late 1990s and mid-2010s, underscoring a pattern of conduct toward winners that critics describe as exploitative and demeaning [4] [5].
4. Timelines, documentation and corroboration: what supports these claims?
Some accusers presented contemporaneous documentation: plane tickets, photos, and other records tied to alleged incidents, while others point to public statements by Trump that appear to corroborate aspects of their accounts. Keul produced travel records supporting a 1993 encounter, and interviews with multiple former contestants across years show recurring themes of inappropriate access and commentary [3] [2]. Journalistic timelines compiled in 2016 collected dozens of separate allegations tied to various years, and subsequent reporting in 2024 continued to surface new accounts, indicating the claims have persisted through election cycles and renewed scrutiny [1] [6].
5. Denials, legal outcomes and political context: weighing motives and findings
Trump and his campaign uniformly denied the allegations, asserting his record of empowering women and disputing individual accounts; campaign statements during 2016 framed the allegations as politically timed [1] [2]. Reporting notes the election-cycle timing of many public disclosures, particularly in October 2016 and renewed reporting tied to later campaigns, which critics cite as potential motive for prominence while accusers and some journalists argue the timing reflects survivors’ choices to come forward when they felt safe or when scrutiny would be effective [1] [3]. Separately, a New York court has found E. Jean Carroll’s sexual-assault complaint credible, a legal determination that sits adjacent to these pageant-related claims and influences public assessment of pattern allegations against Trump [3].
6. What remains contested and where reporting diverges
Reports vary on whether incidents involved minors, the extent of physical contact, and whether Trump’s role as owner made him directly responsible for systemic abuses. Some accounts emphasize physical assault and groping (Laaksonen, Keul), while others center on verbal humiliation and racialized insults (Machado), and still others focus on exposure risks from dressing-room entries (Mariah Billado, Tasha Dixon) [1] [3] [4] [6]. Journalistic compilations from 2016 and subsequent 2024 pieces converge on a consistent theme of alleged abuse of power, but they differ in evidentiary weight per claim, and defenders note the absence of criminal convictions tied specifically to these pageant allegations. Readers should weigh contemporaneous documentation, multiple independent accounts, and legal outcomes where present to form a grounded view of disputed factual claims [2] [3] [6].