Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
SPARTANBURG — The runner-up of the Miss North Carolina pageant — a Miss USA qualifier that was held in Spartanburg in August — has filed a lawsuit in Florida state court accusing pageant organizer A Blaize Productions of overruling the judges’ decision to crown her the winner and awarding the crown to a contestant who was ineligible to compete. A Blaize Productions, which ran the state contest and is responsible for the conduct at issue in the complaint, has not yet filed a response in court. The company’s attorney, Christopher Nigro, said it was his firm’s policy not to comment on pending litigation. Preslie Ross filed the suit in October in Florida circuit court, alleging that she had been chosen as the winner by the judges but that the pageant organizers had prevented the judges from crowning her, instead giving the title to Lourdes Madera, who Ross says was ineligible to compete. Madera is not named as a defendant in the suit. At the time, Madera had already competed in two pageants, making Miss North Carolina the third. But Miss USA rules prevented contestants from competing in more than two state pageants a year. Ross, who paid the $1,350 entry fee and invested time and resources into coaching, wardrobe and travel, argued in the suit that A Blaize unfairly used its claim of sole discretion over the pageant to keep her from winning over alleged rule violations and instead awarded the crown to someone who was ineligible for it. The company’s actions “cost her a once-in-a-lifetime chance to step onto the Miss USA stage, a platform that opens doors to national recognition and the potential to advance to Miss Universe,” said Ross’ attorney, Heather Lee O’Brien. “The Miss USA winner receives a brand-new luxury car, major brand partnerships, and a significant cash prize, but beyond the material rewards, it’s the visibility and life-changing opportunities that Ms. Ross was robbed of.” Ross argued that A Blaize should have used its authority to prevent an ineligible contestant from winning. Both A Blaize and Madera’s coach, Peter Morales, previously told The Post and Courier that Laylah Rose, the CEO of Miss USA at the time of the contest, had told them that the two-competition cap wouldn’t be enforced. However, the rule still appeared in the contract the contestants signed before competing. Meanwhile, the pageant said in a public statement after the contest ended that Ross didn’t win because of point deductions for rule violations. But then pageant representatives told the Post and Courier that Ross was disqualified because her partner, Travis Stancil, was found in an unauthorized area near the dressing rooms and because Ross used the beauty bar without paying for it in advance. In the lawsuit, Ross pointed to the changing explanations and said that if she was indeed disqualified, she wouldn’t have been named runner-up. “Defendants’ actions constitute intentional and unjustified interference, as they cannot pick and choose which rules to enforce while deliberately harming Plaintiff’s competitive opportunity,” Ross’ suit says. In the suit filed on Oct. 3, Ross asked for an injunction declaring her the rightful pageant winner and preventing Madera from competing at Miss USA 2025. She argued that time was of the essence because the Miss USA 2025 pageant was weeks away, held from Oct. 18-24. The pageant’s breach of their contract, she argued in the suit, “irreparably harms Plaintiff by depriving her of the title, professional exposure, career opportunities, the ability to compete at Miss USA 2025 and potentially Miss Universe 2025.” She also argued that losing out on the title deprived her of professional and economic opportunities she otherwise would have had and caused damage to her reputation. The corporations that ran the Miss USA pageant organization under Rose and under new owner Thomas Brodeur both filed responses to Ross’ request for an injunction, arguing in part that Ross had waived any claims and that the pageant had sole discretion to decide the winner under the pageant rules. In an Oct. 14 ruling denying Ross’ request for an injunction, Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll explained that granting it would harm Madera, who wasn’t present. And he said that Ross’ claims of damages could eventually be quantifiable. But, Carroll added, “if the organizations are knowingly breaking their own rules and doing it purposefully, which is the tenor of this complaint, that’s almost a fraud on the public.” The Miss USA pageant was eventually held in Reno, Nev. Madera represented North Carolina. Miss Nebraska, Audrey Eckert, won the competition and is scheduled to represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe 2025 happening this month in Thailand. The coronation is scheduled for Nov. 21. O’Brien said that Ross currently has no plans to compete in another Miss USA pageant. “She’s focused on holding those responsible accountable so that no other young woman has her dream taken away under similar circumstances,” O’Brien said.
