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.
Did trump walk in on naked women
Executive summary
Multiple former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA contestants have told journalists that Donald Trump entered dressing rooms when contestants were partially or fully undressed; reporting names Tasha Dixon [1], Bridget Sullivan [2] and several Miss Teen USA contestants [3] as examples [4] [5] [6]. Trump has also been quoted in past interviews describing walking backstage at pageants and saying he could “get away with things like that,” a remark that media outlets have linked to these allegations [7] [8].
1. What the allegations say — firsthand accounts
Several news outlets published accounts from former contestants who said Trump walked into dressing areas unannounced while women were changing. Tasha Dixon told CBS Los Angeles she and others were “half naked” at a 2001 dress rehearsal when Trump “just came strolling right in” [4]. Bridget Sullivan told BuzzFeed she was changing at a 2000 Miss USA event and that Trump “walked backstage while many of the contestants were naked or getting dressed” [9]. At least four former Miss Teen USA contestants said he entered their 1997 dressing room while girls as young as 15 were undressing, according to BuzzFeed and follow‑up coverage [6] [10].
2. How many people corroborate — mixed memories and counts
Reporting shows a mix of corroboration and non‑recall: BuzzFeed’s reporting included some contestants who described incidents and others who said they did not remember Trump in dressing rooms; Snopes and PolitiFact note that multiple women alleged entries but that many contestants did not recall such moments [8] [11]. That patchwork of memories is central to why outlets carefully report the allegations rather than offer a single definitive count [8] [11].
3. Trump’s own words and how media interpreted them
Trump spoke on Howard Stern in 2005 about going backstage at pageants and seeing women with “no clothes on,” saying he could “sort of get away with things like that”; outlets have pointed to those remarks as supporting context for the contestants’ claims [7]. Fact‑checkers warn the Stern comments have sometimes been misrepresented — he spoke about being backstage at pageants but did not explicitly say in every instance that he entered Miss Teen USA changing rooms — and Full Fact later emphasized nuances in which pageants he referenced [12] [8].
4. Journalistic coverage and timelines
Major outlets (The Guardian, Time, The Independent, People, Fortune) published contemporaneous coverage in 2016 after BuzzFeed’s reporting and the release of the Access Hollywood tape, cataloguing individual allegations from the late 1990s and early 2000s [13] [4] [5] [6] [7]. Later summaries and timelines of sexual‑misconduct allegations against Trump incorporate these dressing‑room stories as part of a broader pattern of claims going back decades [14] [15].
5. Limitations, disagreements and evidentiary gaps
Available reporting documents personal accounts but lacks court findings or independent contemporaneous public records that prove every alleged doorway entry. Fact‑checkers and outlets note that some claims rely on anonymous sources or memories recalled years later; others who were present said they had no recollection of Trump entering [11] [8]. Where reporting presents competing recollections, outlets have typically described both the allegations and the lack of universal corroboration rather than treating the matter as legally adjudicated [11] [8].
6. How defenders and critics frame the story
Defenders pointed to ambiguities in recollection and noted that Trump did not explicitly admit entering Teen USA dressing rooms in every quoted interview; his spokesperson denied some allegations in 2016 [8] [12]. Critics and accusers emphasize the consistency of multiple former contestants’ descriptions and point to Trump’s own past comments on Stern as evidence of behavior and mindset [5] [7].
7. Bottom line for readers
Reporting across reputable outlets documents multiple, specific allegations that Trump entered dressing rooms while contestants were undressed in the late 1990s and early 2000s [4] [6] [5]. However, sources also show contested memories among witnesses and no single definitive public legal ruling proving every claim; fact‑checking outlets urge careful distinction between published allegations, corroboration levels, and direct admissions by Trump [11] [8] [12]. Available sources do not mention a court conviction specifically for entering dressing rooms.