Before slut-shaming was real: The dethroning and reinvention of Vanessa Williams and the Melania Trump double standard
buzzz worthy. . . This is the story about how actress, singer and former pageant queen Vanessa Williams rose above shame to become a huge success by not allowing the media to define her. Ever so often, such as when the Miss USA organization suspended its director for talking behind contestant's backs, there are scandals in the pageant world. Ms. Williams was at the center of the most controversial scandal in pageantry to date. With the support of her fearless mother, she stood up to the pageant establishment and became an overcomer. Her fall from grace would later become a footnote in her life's story. By Mona Austin In 2016, outgoing Miss USA Deshauna Barber who represented DC crowned the current DC title holder Kára McCullough, also black, as the new Miss USA. Black women have a history of defying the odds in pageantry and it all started with Vanessa Williams. Williams was famously strippe...