Miss Universe 2013: 10 eye-popping moments

By By Jennifer Arellano

Source: Entertainment Weekly / Pop Watch

Congratulations are in order for the new Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, who beat out 85 other international beauties Saturday night at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, wearing a shimmering silver dress.While it’s another year of bleached perma-smiles, bizarro-glam costumery that make an ’80s Cher look modest, and suspiciously impressive résumés, for all the glitter and iridescent excess of Miss Venezuela’s finale dress, the event itself seemed a little lackluster this year. Maybe it was the absence of wonderfully cheeky host Andy Cohenpaired with the pure cheesiness of Giuliana Rancic? Or perhaps it was the lack of cringe-worthy fashion dialogue from usual suspect and style commentator Jeannie Mai? Or maybe my crazy-meter broke from theVMAs and Kanye rants and that Emmy musical number? Well, thankfully, it’s not completely broken, because there were still plenty of silly sights to spare. Behold, my picks for the 10 eye-popping Miss Universe 2013 moments:

1. A Nick Jonas shout-out. At least she didn’t pull a Hillary Swank. Did Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo thank her JoBro boyfriend during her parting speech? After thanking her family, friends, and the Donald, she said she couldn’t wait to start a new chapter with a “very special person who puts a smile on my face every day.”

2. Don’t hate them because they’re beautiful; hate them because they’re … superheroes? Apparently beauty queens save lives too. Instead of baton-twirling, flame-throwing extracurricular taglines, Miss Dominican Republic “helped deliver a baby when she was 17″ and Miss Switzerland “once pulled a drowning girl out of a pool.” C’mon, let’s feel inadequate together!

3. Angelina Jolie was a contestant! Well, sorta. Jin Ye, Miss China, was dubbed the Chinese Angelina Jolie. Do you see the resemblance? But where’s the vial of Billy Bob Thornton’s blood? Or the brood of diverse, aesthetically pleasing children?

4. Nostalgia watch: Tara Lipinski as a judge. Or “Lara Lipinski” as Mel B. mispronounced the retired figure skater’s name. What girl didn’t grow up wanting Olympic figure-skating gold when the tiny Tara won the 1998 Winter Olympics? Holy crap, she’s 31. Winter pipe dreams never die!


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Miss USA Pageant No Longer in Negotiations to be Hosted in Doral

By Willard Shepard, NBC Miami'

Council people in a Miami suburb said they were told by a Donald Trump representative that the 2014 Miss USA Pageant will not be held in their city because of political infighting and disparaging comments by the mayor. Trump owns the Doral Hotel & Country Club,a large resort and golf course in the city. Once Trump bought the resort in 2012, the city entered into negotiations with his team about hosting the pageant, said Councilwoman Ana Maria Rodriguez.

But the recent controversy between City Manager Joe Carollo and Mayor Luigi Boria coupled with unwelcoming comments from Boria about the pageant, have prompted Trump to move the 2014 contest in Las Vegas, according to sources within the council.

So on Thursday, Trump's representative called each council member individually to relay the news. They were told that he will make the announcement from the Miss Universe pageanton Saturday night.

“That decision was made by Donald Trump soon after the motion by the city commission of Doral to support bringing the Miss USA Pageant to Trump Doral and the mayor was very clear that he spoke against it and voted against it,” said Trump spokesman Ed Russo “And we want to avoid awkward situations like this.”

Trump said he would reconsider bringing the Miss USA Pageant to Doral at some future time.

"The announcement for next year's pageant for the Miss USA will no longer be in the Doral resort which is what we were all anticipating," said Ana Maria Rodriguez. "We are now informed that it will be happening in another city in and in another location which is very disappointing. We have been working very hard to get this pageant to our city." She added that an elected official said he doesn't want the pageant in Doral.

"The main reason is they don't want to have a pageant in the resort in a city where they feel the main person doesn't want them there--they are not welcome," she said. Vice Mayor Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera said it was disappointing and that it would've been great to have the pageant in the city.

"We are really taken by that because this would be a very big economic downturn for Doral," Rodriguez Aguilera said. She said it would've meant about $50 million for the city and the surrounding areas. "The situation that Doral is going through right now and we have been in the press for the wrong reasons," she said.

Meanwhile, Boria said he is still hopeful about the situation. "We don't know yet. We have to wait. I think we have be patient. Mr Trump make his ultimate word to us," Boria said.

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Burning Question: Why Do Venezuelan Women Rule Miss Universe?

(from Yahoo News)

Welcome to the Miss Universe-Burning Questions Lightning Round!

Q: Three of the last six Miss Universe pageants have been won by Miss Venezuela — what's in the water there? Are pageants a big part of their culture?

A: No, pageants aren't a big part of their culture. Pageants are amassive, huge, enormous part of their culture. In 2010, professor Belinda Edmondson of Rutgers University published an academic paper that pretty much summed it up: "In the beauty contest-obsessed societies of the Caribbean and Latin America, a contestant’s chances of winning a national pageant are directly related to the perception that she has a shot at winning an international beauty contest such as Miss World or Miss Universe."

In other words, in Latin America, beauty pageants serve much of the same hometown rah-rah function that football does in Texas, or basketball in Indiana.

"In the Caribbean, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, the beauty pageant is the quintessential middlebrow cultural product," Edmondson writes, "a mix of cheesecake, social desire, commercial canniness, and Third World nationalist ambition. Its winners are frequently used as spokeswomen to promote state initiatives in farming or commerce.

"The beauty pageant, then, covers roughly the same terrain as the romance novel — social aspiration, nationalism, and pleasure." As for Venezuela in particular, well, a source close to the Miss Universe organization puts it to me this way: "They take their pageants very seriously. It's a big deal, and a ton of girls compete. It's a different level of importance there, and they're fierce competitors."

Maria Gabriel Isler, the contest's new 25-year-old, half-Swiss champion climbed her way to the top of the Venezuelan circuit, while working as an anchor for a national TV network. Isler earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and seems to have specialized in presentation as an art form, having worked as a professional gift wrapper in her early life. She began her rise to Miss Universe winning the Miss Guarico prize — representing her home state — before winning the title of Miss Venuezla and finally the entire Universe.

Q: Which countries have produced the most Miss Universe winners?

A: Well, Isler marks the seventh Miss Universe to come out of Venezuela. But there's one country that has produced eight winners. Say it with me: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! (FYI: Puerto Rico, which sends its own delegate, has won five times.)

Q: Does every country have a Miss Universe contestant?

A: Nope. Every year, 80 to 100 countries send women to compete. And the planet has more than 200 sovereign states on it. For example, this year's Miss Universe pageant did not contain a Miss Albania, Miss Armenia, Miss North Korea, or Miss Bahrain. There is also an opening for a Miss Bhutan, if you're thinking of maybe launching the franchise there.

Steven Tyler asks Isler about overcoming fears during the 2013 Miss Universe pageant:

Q: How do other countries crown their Misses? In countries where there isn't a democracy, but, say, a king or a sole ruler, can he just crown his girlfriend? Do princesses ever get to rep their country?

A: If you think that Miss Universe and McDonald's have little in common, think again. Both are run like franchises. Local organizations hoping to send a Miss Universe contestant to the big show have to get permission from the Miss Universe Organization.

Most of the time, a local pageant has determined the winner of each participating country, but not always. For a few years, Australia stopped hosting pageants, deeming them archaic, and instead selected its Miss Aussie via a modeling agency. (Oz has since reinstated pageants.) Royals, dictators, and problematic governments can't crown whomever they want ... at least, not without the pretense of a pageant or some other ceremonial contest. The Chinese license holder, for example, finds its Miss Universe China using a combination of regional contests and direct auditions.

Miss Universe 2013 winner is Miss Venezuela, Gabriela Isler

By Jamie Wetherbe, LA Times

And the crown goes to ... Miss Venezuela, Gabriela Isler, who was named Miss Universe 2013 Saturday night at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall. Miss Universe 2012, Olivia Culpo, crowned Isler at the conclusion of the two-hour telecast, viewed by an estimated 1 billion people from 190 countries.

Isler beat out contestants from 85 other countries at the 62nd annual competition to nab the crown for Venezuela, the country's seventh Miss Universe title. The 25-year-old, 5-foot, 10-inch beauty works as an anchor for Venezuela's Venevision television; her experience is likely to come in handy during her one-year stint as Miss Universe.

Soon after her win, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tweeted his congratulations, calling her victory a "triumph." Isler was selected by a panel of eight judges including celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, gold medal figure skater Tara Lipinski and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, who pulled double duty with a performance during the show.

MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts and “America’s Got Talent” alum and former Spice Girl Melanie Brown served as co-hosts. The pageant took place in Russia for the first time, sparking debate over the country's anti-gay laws. Roberts, who is openly gay, stepped in as pageant co-host after Bravo's Andy Cohen opted out following Russia's enactment of a law banning "homosexual propaganda."

"I certainly think that discriminatory laws are just that, discriminatory and they marginalize the LGBT community," Roberts told Agence France-Press on the red carpet. "I empathize with the LGBT people here." Roberts, however, didn't take the issue to the stage. He dedicated the telecast to victims of the recent typhoon in the Philippines. "We send our very best, our thoughts," he said.

Isler on Sunday preformed her first duty as the new Miss Universe by posing in a ruby and diamond bejeweled swimsuit worth an estimated $1 million.