Which former Miss Universe or Miss Teen USA contestants have publicly spoken out against Trump?

1. A Spotlight on Alicia Machado — From Vocal Critic to Complex Positions

Alicia Machado, who won Miss Universe, is the most consistently identified former titleholder to have publicly criticized Donald Trump; she has described being humiliated by his commentary about her weight and has accused him of calling her names such as “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping,” and she has linked his treatment to long-term effects on her well-being and career. Machado’s criticism was prominent during the 2016 U.S. campaign and she publicly supported Hillary Clinton, even releasing campaign material and becoming a U.S. citizen to vote against Trump; later reporting notes she endorsed some Trump actions regarding Venezuela, illustrating that individual political positions can evolve and complicate a simple opposer/supporter label ^{[2] [1] [6]}.

2. Miss Teen USA Contestants’ Allegations — Multiple Accounts of Backstage Intrusion

Several former Miss Teen USA contestants, most notably Mariah Billado from the 1997 pageant, alleged that Trump entered dressing rooms while contestants were changing, with some accounts claiming girls were as young as 15; Billado said Trump responded to her discomfort with remarks that minimized the intrusion. Follow-up reporting found that at least four contestants described similar experiences while eleven others said they did not recall such incidents, producing a mixed record of corroboration and non-recollection that reporters flagged as significant when assessing the allegations ^{[3] [4] [5]}.

3. Miss USA Contestants’ Reports — Inspections and Objectification Claims

Former Miss USA contestants, including Samantha Holvey and Cassandra Searles, reported feeling objectified and recalled being personally inspected or paraded before pageant owners and judges, with one contestant describing being made to redo introductions and another saying contestants felt treated like “cattle.” These testimonies are consistent with a 2005 Howard Stern interview in which Trump admitted entering backstage areas for Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, though he framed those remarks differently; the combination of contestant testimony and Trump’s own statements creates a body of evidence emphasizing patternized behavior reported by multiple participants ^{[7] [5]}.

4. The Evidence Landscape — Corroboration, Denials, and Limits of Memory

Reporting across 2016–2024 shows a pattern of partial corroboration: some contestants corroborated each other’s claims, while others did not recall incidents or offered denials. Trump’s spokespersons denied many allegations in 2016, and Trump himself sometimes framed admissions as limited to adult pageants; journalists noted the passage of time, differing memories among dozens of contestants, and the presence of anonymous accounts, all of which complicate definitive adjudication of every claim. The investigative record thus reads as a mix of firsthand allegations, corroborative testimony, public denials, and evidentiary limits tied to elapsed time and differing recollections ^{[4] [8] [5]}.

5. What the Reporting Omits and Why Context Matters

News accounts highlight individual voices and some corroboration but generally lack forensic or contemporaneous administrative records that would settle specific disputed episodes; they also reflect editorial choices about naming anonymous sources versus amplifying identified complainants. Coverage from 2016 through 2025 shows contestants’ public statements have sometimes been leveraged in electoral politics and public debates, introducing potential incentives for amplification or disputation by partisan actors. For readers, the key takeaway is that several named former Miss Universe/Miss Teen USA contestants have publicly criticized Trump or alleged misconduct, while other contestants and spokespeople dispute parts of those narratives, leaving a composite but not fully unified evidentiary picture ^{[1] [3] [9]}.