Trump admitted to entering beauty pageant contestants’ dressing rooms?

In mid-2024, viral social media posts claimed that former U.S. President Donald Trump had bragged about entering the dressing rooms of Miss Teen USA contestants, many of whom were underage.

(Screenshot via X)

Several publications have noted that Trump once owned a number of beauty pageants, including Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA, but have not specified which pageant venues he boasted about competing in.

(Screenshot via X)

One message purported to quote Trump telling radio host Howard Stern on “The Howard Stern Show” that he had surprised Miss Teen USA contestants who were between 14 and 16 years old at the time: “I go backstage before a Miss Teen USA pageant and everybody’s getting dressed and ready and everything and there’s no men anywhere. And I’m allowed to go because I own the pageant ….”

(Screenshot via X)

We looked closely at Trump’s past comments, as well as actual allegations made by former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. Trump did boast about surprising contestants, but he was referring to the Miss USA or Miss Universe pageants, whose contestants are 18 or older. The quote above in which he appears to brag about surprising Miss Teen USA contestants misrepresents an actual comment he made to Stern.

That said, there have been numerous serious allegations against Trump by Miss USA and Miss Teen USA contestants that decades ago he entered their dressing rooms while they were partially nude (something Trump’s spokesperson denied in 2016). We can neither prove nor disprove their accurate accounts, and while Trump has not admitted to entering underage contestants, he certainly admitted to Stern about his inappropriate behavior at other pageants.

What exactly did Trump say to Stern?

From 1995 to 2015, Trump was part owner of the Miss Universe Organization, which included the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. In 2016, CNN viewed excerpts of his numerous conversations with Stern and said they depicted Trump as frequently being degrading toward women. CNN also released excerpts of the audio clips, and the quote in question can be heard at the 1:40 mark:

In an April 2005 episode, Stern asked Trump if he had ever had sexual relations with Miss USA or Miss Universe contestants, according to the CNN report, to which Trump responded, “I never comment on things like that.”

They continued to chat for a few minutes, when co-host Robin Quivers asked Trump if he thought sleeping with candidates was a conflict of interest. Trump responded, “That could be a conflict of interest. But, you know, that’s the kind of thing you worry about later, you tend to think about it a little bit later.”

Stern then adopted a fake foreign accent, referencing the international contestants in the Miss Universe pageant. and said, “Some of these foreign girls” say hello in their country “with a vagina.” Trump then said, “Well, what you could also say is that as the owner of the pageant, it’s your obligation to do so.”

He then described how he got away with going backstage while the contestants were naked:

Well, I’ll tell you the funny thing is, before a show, I go backstage and everybody’s getting dressed and everything, and you know, there’s no men anywhere, and I’m allowed in because I own the pageant and so I inspect it. You know, I inspect because I want to make sure everything’s okay. (…) You know, the dresses. “Is everybody okay?” You know, they’re standing there naked. “Is everybody okay?” And you see these incredible women, and so, I kind of get away with that kind of thing. But no, I’ve been very good.

According to the Miss USA and Miss Universe websites, contestants must be at least 18 years old. In the conversation above with Stern, Trump was referring to those pageants. He did not reference Miss Teen USA in his comments, indicating that the X-rated post above has edited his remarks.

Did Trump Surprise Partially Dressed Candidates?

Trump, in his own words in 2005, admitted to having done this in some pageants (referring to Miss USA or Miss Universe). However, his representatives denied years later that he had ever done this.

But some former Miss Teen USA contestants have accused him of entering their dressing room. In a 2016 Buzzfeed News investigation, nearly a half-dozen former Miss Teen USA contestants claimed Trump had walked in on them changing — some of the girls in those dressing rooms were reportedly 15 at the time.

An incident reportedly took place at the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant. Mariah Billado, the former Miss Vermont Teen USA, recalled, “I remember putting my dress on really quickly because I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s a man here.'” She then recalled Trump saying, “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before.” Four other women also claimed Trump entered the dressing room; 11 contestants contacted by Buzzfeed said they did not remember him in the dressing room.

In 2016, a former Miss USA contestant, who was 18 at the time, said Trump walked into their dressing room: “We first met him at the dress rehearsal, half-naked, changing into our bikinis. He came in without flinching. We didn’t have time to put on a robe or any other clothing. Some of the girls were topless. Others were naked.”

She said they were told to greet him in an uncomfortable position where “the owner (would) come rushing in while we were naked or half-naked in a very physically vulnerable position and then be pressured by people who worked for him telling us to strut in front of him, to go up to him, to talk to him, to get his attention.”

In a statement to the media in October 2016, in the midst of his first presidential campaign, Trump’s spokesman denied all of the former candidates’ allegations: “These accusations have no merit and have already been refuted by many others present. When you see questionable attacks like these magically thrown out in the last month of a presidential campaign, you have to wonder what the political motivations are and why the media is pushing them.”

In summary

It is clear that Trump himself bragged about entering the contestants’ dressing rooms, but these comments came during a discussion about Miss USA and Miss Universe, not Miss Teen USA. However, real allegations from former Miss Teen USA and Miss USA contestants have bolstered the claims that Trump behaved inappropriately. However, given that the events took place decades ago and we only have conflicting accounts from Trump himself, as well as statements from his accusers, we are unable to say for certain whether he actually entered the dressing room or not.