E4PR Public Relations Blog For Showbiz and the Entertainment Industry

April 03, 2012

Jenna Talackova, Transgender Beauty Queen, Allowed To Compete In Miss Universe Canada


The beauty queen who was born a boy won't be kicked out of the Miss Universe Canada competition after all. Jenna Talackova, 23, was thrown out of the pageant, founded by Donald Trump, when organisers found out she had undergone surgery to become a woman.

Officials denied charges of discrimination and said the reason why a male-to-female transgender contestant could not compete was because Miss Talackova lied on her application form.

However Miss Universe authorities have appeared to have a change of heart after claiming the young woman had been 'dishonest'. Michael D Cohen, executive vice president and special counsel to Donald Trump, wrote in an email to ABC: 'The Miss Universe Organization will allow Jenna Talackova to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions.’

The transgender contestant had already successfully reached the finals in the Miss Vancouver pageant before she was banned from continuing in the competition. Ms Talackova was kicked out of the competition after organisers became suspicious she was not 'naturally born female' Following her expulsion from the competition, organizers faced much criticism with many fans saying that they were blatantly discriminatory.

Over 20,000 people signed a virtual petition on Change.org calling for organizers to reverse their decision. The original decision from the Miss Universe Canada pageant sparked outrage with people calling for Jenna to be reinstated into the contest.


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