Miss Montana Said She Got 'Death Threats' From Miss Texas USA's 'Friends & Fans' (EXCLUSIVE)
Various allegations that the Miss USA 2022 pageant was rigged have been emerging since the competition on October 3, and many of those who spoke out about it were fellow contestants, including Miss Montana Heather Lee O'Keefe and Miss Alaska Courtney Schuman.
The title went to Miss Texas, R'Bonney Gabriel, and the rumors started swirling when fans noticed the other contenders' unsupportive reaction to her win during the show.
Contestants like O'Keefe took to social media in the days following the competition to shed light on some of the reasons why they claimed the competition was rigged, including a sponsored trip that was promoted quickly after Gabriel was crowned.
Gabriel denied these assertions in an interview with E! News on October 6, stating that she "got along with all the girls [she] encountered" and was unaware during the pageant of any controversy.
"I haven't gotten the chance to talk to [Miss Montana] about it, and I'm open to talking to her about it. I would love to communicate with her because I think there's a lot of allegations that are coming up that aren't true," Gabriel said in the interview.
O'Keefe has since put out more videos on TikTok, seemingly responding to Gabriel's claims from the interview and the backlash she and other contestants have faced as a result.
@heatherleeokeefe We did it. Thank y’all for the support 🫶 #missusa #missuniverse #missusadrama #missusa2022
Narcity reached out to O'Keefe requesting comment about the statements made by Miss Texas USA.
"In light of me speaking out on this, myself and a lot of the rest of this year's Miss USA contestants are now being virtually attacked by R'Bonney Gabriel's friends and fans with harassing comments, extremely hateful cyber-bullying messages, and even death threats," she told Narcity.
"I'm not taking any more media interviews for this reason," she added.
Narcity also contacted Courtney Schuman for comment. She has not immediately responded.
We also reached out to R'Bonney Gabriel for comment on O'Keefe's claim. We will update this article if we receive a response.
The Miss Universe organization is currently investigating the claims that the pageant was rigged. It is still ongoing.
