Fact Check: Truth behind posts claiming Donald Trump entered changing rooms of beauty pageant contestants

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: In mid-2024, social media platforms were flooded with claims that former US President Donald Trump had boasted about entering the changing rooms of Miss Teen USA contestants, many of whom were below 18 years of age.

These allegations, which stirred significant controversy, pointed to Trump's past ownership of several beauty pageants, including Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss Teen USA.

However, the viral posts failed to specify which pageant contestant rooms Trump allegedly bragged about entering.

Social media posts hinge on purported quote from Donald Trump during 'The Howard Stern Show'

The claims largely hinged on a purported quote from Trump during an interview with radio host Howard Stern on 'The Howard Stern Show'.

According to the social media posts, Trump said, "I'll go backstage before a Miss Teen USA show and everyone's getting dressed and ready and everything and no men are anywhere. And I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant [...]."

This quote implied that Trump walked in on Miss Teen USA contestants, who were around 14 to 16 years old at the time.

A fact-check by Snopes investigated these allegations, examining both Trump's comments and allegations made by former beauty pageant contestants from Miss USA and Miss Teen USA competitions.

It revealed that while Trump did brag about entering dressing rooms, he referred to Miss USA or Miss Universe pageants, where contestants are 18 or older. The quote used in the social media posts was a misrepresentation of Trump's real comment to Stern.

However, serious allegations have been made against Trump by contestants from both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, dating back several decades. They reported that Trump walked into their dressing rooms while they were partially dressed, a claim Trump's spokesperson denied in 2016.

Despite these denials, Trump's own admissions to Stern about his actions during other pageants cast a shadow over these allegations.

What did Donald Trump say during conversation with Howard Stern?

Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organization, which included Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, from 1995 to 2015.

In 2016, CNN reviewed clips of his numerous conversations with Stern, which often depicted Trump as demeaning towards women. CNN published sections of the audio clips.

During a radio show in April 2005, Stern inquired whether Trump had engaged in close relations with contestants from the Miss USA or Miss Universe pageants. Trump's response was noncommittal, stating, "I don't discuss such matters."

The conversation continued, with co-host Robin Quivers asking Trump if having close relations with contestants posed a conflict of interest.

Trump replied, "It could be a conflict of interest. But, you know, it's the kind of thing you worry about later, you tend to think about the conflict a little bit later on."

During the conversation, Stern adopted a mock foreign accent and made a vulgar comment about international Miss Universe contestants, saying "some of these foreign girls" greet people in a weird way, alluding to their anatomy.

Trump responded with, "Well, what you could also say is that, as the owner of the pageant, it's your obligation to do that."

Trump then detailed how he got away with going backstage while the contestants were partially dressed.

"Well, I'll tell you the funniest is that before a show, I'll go backstage and everyone's getting dressed, and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it. You know, I'm inspecting because I want to make sure that everything is good," he explained.

According to the official websites of Miss USA and Miss Universe, contestants must be at least 18 years old. In his conversation with Stern, Trump referred to these contests, not Miss Teen USA. This indicates that the viral social media posts edited his actual words, misleadingly attributing them to a different context.

Former Miss Teen USA pageant contestants' allegations against Donald Trump

While Trump did not admit to walking in on teenaged contestants, several former Miss Teen USA pageant contestants have accused him of doing just that.

A 2016 Buzzfeed News investigation reported that nearly half a dozen former contestants claimed Trump walked in on them changing, with some of the girls reportedly being less than 18 years of age at that time.

Mariah Billado, the former Miss Vermont Teen USA, recalled an incident from the 1997 Miss Teen USA beauty pageant: "I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, 'Oh my god, there's a man in here'."

According to one woman's recollection, Trump allegedly entered a dressing area and remarked, "Don't worry, ladies, I've seen it all before."

This account was corroborated by four other women who made similar claims about Trump's presence in the dressing room.

However, when Buzzfeed reached out to other contestants, eleven of them stated they did not remember Trump being in that space.