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What were the outcomes of any investigations into the changing room allegations against Trump?
Executive summary
Reporting and fact-checking show multiple allegations that Donald Trump entered beauty-pageant or dressing-room areas decades ago; fact-checkers conclude Trump did boast about walking into adult pageant dressing rooms and several former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA contestants have said he entered changing areas, while other contestants deny recollection [1] [2]. Available sources do not provide a completed, formal criminal investigation outcome specifically resolving those changing-room allegations; instead, coverage is a mix of contemporaneous denials, conflicting witness memories, and later fact‑checks [1] [2].
1. The allegations: what people have said
Several former pageant contestants have alleged Trump walked into dressing rooms or changing areas years ago, including claims from Miss Teen USA contestants such as Mariah Billado recalling a man in a dressing room and Trump reportedly saying, “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before” [1] [2]. Fact-checkers note that Trump also publicly boasted about walking into dressing rooms for Miss USA or Miss Universe contestants — contests whose participants were adults — which complicates how his statements and the contestants’ allegations are interpreted [2].
2. Denials and conflicting memories among witnesses
Trump’s campaign and spokespersons have denied these specific dressing‑room accusations — a denial cited back to 2016 — and follow-up reporting found mixed memories: BuzzFeed reached multiple former contestants and some denied recalling Trump in the dressing rooms while a smaller number described encounters; fact‑checkers report both assertions and denials exist in the record [2] [1]. Snopes’ reporting highlights that eleven contestants reached by BuzzFeed did not recall him being in the dressing room, while four or so described it [1].
3. What independent fact‑checkers concluded
Snopes analyzed viral claims and concluded Trump did brag about entering dressing rooms at adult pageants, and that several former contestants have alleged he entered their dressing rooms when they were partially undressed; at the same time, the fact-checkers document that multiple contestants say they do not remember such incidents and that Trump’s team denies them [1] [2]. In short, fact‑checking finds the public statements and the contestant testimonies both present, creating a contested record rather than a singular, adjudicated truth [1] [2].
4. Legal or official investigations: what the record shows (and doesn’t)
Available sources in the provided set do not describe a completed criminal prosecution or a formal law‑enforcement finding that definitively resolved the changing‑room allegations against Trump; the material is framed as reported allegations, denials, and fact‑checking rather than the outcome of a specific investigatory or prosecutorial determination on those dressing‑room claims [1] [2]. Where stronger legal processes occurred for other allegations — for example, the E. Jean Carroll civil case referenced elsewhere in coverage — those are separate matters and not direct adjudications of the pageant changing‑room allegations in these sources [3] [4].
5. How the story evolved in public discourse
The dressing‑room claims resurfaced in social media and news cycles in 2024–2025, prompting renewed fact‑checks and reporting [1] [2]. Snopes framed the 2025 virality as a reexamination of earlier claims, assembling past contestant statements and Trump's past public remarks; that reexamination did not produce new criminal findings but did prompt renewed public scrutiny [1].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas to note
Media outlets and fact‑checkers approached the topic with different emphases: fact‑checkers focused on verifying specific claims about admissions and who was a minor versus an adult [2], while outlets amplifying allegations tended to foreground former contestants’ emotional recollections [1]. Political actors and campaigns have incentives to either amplify or minimize such stories; given Trump’s high public profile and political stakes, readers should weigh how partisan aims may shape which details are highlighted in different reports [1] [2].
7. What remains unresolved and what to watch for
The sources provided do not report a conclusive legal resolution specifically addressing the changing‑room allegations, so the factual record remains mixed and contested in public reporting [1] [2]. Future credible reporting or official statements that either document prosecutions, civil rulings tied directly to these particular claims, or authoritative investigative findings would change that status; as of the available reporting, the matter is one of conflicting testimony, denials, and fact‑checker synthesis rather than a closed legal outcome [1] [2].