\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>The Biggest Beauty Pageant Scandals and Controversies of All Time<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tBeauty pageants aren\u2019t always pretty. Competitive events from Miss USA to Miss Universe have all had their fair share of scandals and controversies over the years. In 1984, Miss America Vanessa Williams famously gave up her crown after nude photos were published in Penthouse. Years later, in 2006, Miss USA Tara Conner kept her sash [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She continued, \u201cI should also add here that some pageant women disputed [Erika\u2019s] narrative, they wrote to us, that she was just randomly invited. They said that minors, in particular, are not just freely solicited to join the pageant world and that their photo has to be submitted by a parent or a guardian. I\u2019m not an expert on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Us Weekly<\/em> has reached out to Erika Kirk for comment.<\/p>\nErika\u2019s pageant history was previously mentioned in the second episode<\/a> of Owens\u2019 Bride of Charlie<\/i> docuseries earlier this week, where Owens reacted to the Turning Point USA executive\u2019s 2020 interview about her journey.<\/p>\n\u201cThe pageant world is something that was an interesting season of life,\u201d Erika said in the now-resurfaced clip<\/a>. \u201cIt was nothing that I was ever groomed for. It was nothing that was ever on my radar.\u201d<\/p>\nErika further claimed that she was nominated to participate in Miss Arizona USA when she was still in school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, if I were to ever win this, the most important thing out of it would be to be able to make a difference with the title,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t care about the photo shoots. I just want to be able to overbook myself, being able to get involved with the local communities [and] organizations that are actually making a difference. The pageant world, for me, was something that was not a form of narcissism. It was more along the terms of being a steward for my state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens, however, didn\u2019t believe Erika.<\/p>\n
\u201cErika has been involved in pageants from the very beginning. Her mother is definitely the person who pushed that,\u201d Owens claimed in her Thursday, February 25, YouTube episode. \u201cErika, without question and anybody who\u2019s being objective and honest and looking at her history of the people that she\u2019s dated and the people wanted to be in close proximity to can guarantee that this girl wanted to be famous, like, very badly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n![\"Erika-Kirk-GettyImages-2252445859\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Erika-Kirk-GettyImages-2252445859.jpg?w=1000&quality=47&strip=all\")
<\/div>
\n Erika Kirk.<\/span> Olivier Touron \/ AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nErika, who was married to conservative commentator Charlie before his 2025 death, won Miss Arizona USA in 2012. She went on to participate in Miss USA 2012 seven years before making her reality TV debut<\/a> on Bravo\u2019s Summer House<\/i>. Erika and her then-boyfriend, JT Massey<\/strong>, later auditioned for The Amazing Race <\/i><\/a>in 2014.<\/p>\nErika has not publicly addressed any of her alleged pursuits of fame, most recently staying focused on running Charlie\u2019s Turning Point USA organization and raising their kids in light of his death. Charlie was shot and killed in September 2025 during a speaking engagement. He was 31.<\/p>\n
\n
Erika\u2019s pageant history was previously mentioned in the second episode<\/a> of Owens\u2019 Bride of Charlie<\/i> docuseries earlier this week, where Owens reacted to the Turning Point USA executive\u2019s 2020 interview about her journey.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pageant world is something that was an interesting season of life,\u201d Erika said in the now-resurfaced clip<\/a>. \u201cIt was nothing that I was ever groomed for. It was nothing that was ever on my radar.\u201d<\/p>\n Erika further claimed that she was nominated to participate in Miss Arizona USA when she was still in school.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, if I were to ever win this, the most important thing out of it would be to be able to make a difference with the title,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t care about the photo shoots. I just want to be able to overbook myself, being able to get involved with the local communities [and] organizations that are actually making a difference. The pageant world, for me, was something that was not a form of narcissism. It was more along the terms of being a steward for my state.\u201d<\/p>\n Owens, however, didn\u2019t believe Erika.<\/p>\n \u201cErika has been involved in pageants from the very beginning. Her mother is definitely the person who pushed that,\u201d Owens claimed in her Thursday, February 25, YouTube episode. \u201cErika, without question and anybody who\u2019s being objective and honest and looking at her history of the people that she\u2019s dated and the people wanted to be in close proximity to can guarantee that this girl wanted to be famous, like, very badly.\u201d<\/p>\n Erika, who was married to conservative commentator Charlie before his 2025 death, won Miss Arizona USA in 2012. She went on to participate in Miss USA 2012 seven years before making her reality TV debut<\/a> on Bravo\u2019s Summer House<\/i>. Erika and her then-boyfriend, JT Massey<\/strong>, later auditioned for The Amazing Race <\/i><\/a>in 2014.<\/p>\n Erika has not publicly addressed any of her alleged pursuits of fame, most recently staying focused on running Charlie\u2019s Turning Point USA organization and raising their kids in light of his death. Charlie was shot and killed in September 2025 during a speaking engagement. He was 31.<\/p>\n<\/div>
\n Erika Kirk.<\/span> Olivier Touron \/ AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n