Trump wishes transgender hopeful luck in pageant
Published April 4, 2012
A boy who became a girl got her wish to compete for title of hottest woman on the planet after Donald Trump said she could compete for Canada's spot in the Miss Universe pageant.
Trump, who runs the Miss Universe Organisation, issued a statement Tuesday wishing Jenna Talackova "the best of luck in her quest for the crown."
The statement came the same day that Talackova and her attorney Gloria Allred urged the organisation to clarify its gender requirements.
The organisation said it actually made the decision Monday to let the 23-year-old Talackova compete in the 2012 competition to become Canada's contestant.
The organisation said Talackova could enter the pageant "provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions."
No further details were provided.
Jenna Talackova's passport states her gender as female. (tmz.com)
Talackova, a Vancouver resident, underwent a sex change four years ago after being born a male.
Her sex change initially led organisers in Canada to disqualify her from the 61st Miss Universe Canada pageant in May, citing a rule that she must be "naturally born" a woman.
Talackova pleaded with the pageant's leaders to drop the rule.
"I am a woman," Talackova said Tuesday. "I was devastated, and I felt that excluding me for the reason that they gave was unjust. I have never asked for any special consideration. I only wanted to compete."
Talackova has been given the green light to compete again. (Image source: bittenandbound.com)
"I do not want any other woman to suffer the discrimination that I have endured," Talackova said.
In response, the pageant organisers issued a statement saying "Gloria Allred's statements to the press today pay no mind to the fact that Mr Trump and the Miss Universe Organization made the fair and just decision in allowing Jenna to compete in the Miss Universe 2012 Canada pageant."
It also said it's evaluating its rules to ensure that type of issue does not occur again.
"There is no need to further ‘evaluate'," Allred responded late Tuesday. "The rule is blatantly discriminatory and it is time for Mr Trump to say that he will get rid of the rule."
The rule requiring a contestant to be "naturally born female" appears to still be in effect in other countries around the world, Allred said. - AP
