Las Vegas Weekly

April 16, 2009 · 1:29 PM

Crystle Stewart passes on the Miss USA title at Planet Hollywood in three days

By Robin Leach

Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart now has just three days remaining until she turns over her title to a new winner Sunday evening here at the Theatre for Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood. A global audience of millions in 100 countries will watch the NBC broadcast, with even more logging on to the live stream on NBC’s Web site.

Yesterday, as the hours ticked down, Crystle gathered this year’s 51 contestants for a pep talk about what the winner can expect and what she will do. She also told them that while just one leaves immediately as the new queen and 50 will go home, she encouraged them to think of what they had achieved and to not be disappointed.

I sat down for a one-on-one interview with Miss USA President Paula Shugart, who also runs the Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants, and we’ll have that interview tomorrow. I asked my friend Valerie Hayes, who hosts Pageant Talk Radio at PageantTalkRadio.com, to take the last interview with Crystle. I thought she’d be far better getting a really candid Q&A session.

Here’s Valerie’s report especially for Vegas DeLuxe:

“Crystle has had an amazing year traveling the country, and it’s hard to believe that her year is almost over. Without question, Crystle is one of the most impressive young women in pageantry. Her personal story is a testament to perseverance, humility and unwavering faith. During her year as Miss USA, she has presented her “Waiting to Win” speech to packed audiences encouraging others to pursue their own personal dreams.

Valerie Hayes: Competing at any state level, the USA pageant can be daunting, but you competed and competed and competed. You were a runner-up twice but never won. What gave you that final boost to help you compete that final year?

Crystle Stewart: I must say my mother and my faith in God because I really was not going to compete that last year. I was first runner-up for the second time the year before, and I was feeling discouraged. I was not feeling as confident anymore, and I was thinking maybe this isn’t for me. This would be my fifth year if I were to go back, and I never thought that I would compete that many times for a title. I remember my mother telling me a scripture from the Bible: “The race does not go to the swift, but to the one that endures.” She just told me to “keep up your endurance” and that “you never know, if you don't go back to compete again, you never know you would have been crowned Miss Texas USA, and you don’t want to lose this opportunity.” So I got my evening gown; I studied for my interview; I got prepared physically, mentally and spiritually; and I went on to capture the Miss Texas USA crown of 2008.

VH: Last year, shortly after becoming Miss USA, you got right back immediately into prep mode and went to the Miss Universe Pageant.

CS: Just going to Vietnam was a highlight for me. I’d never been out of the country before, so that was my first time on a 22-hour flight. The people there were so courteous; the hospitality was so great. There were 80 other countries represented there, just beautiful women; different cultures, different languages; and I got to know at least each and every one of them at some point. But a high point for me, and no one would ever believe it, was when I fell at the Miss Universe Pageant. I feel it helped people in some way in that even though you fall, you can pick yourself up and carry on with life. It doesn’t have to be in pageantry, but even if it’s financially or in a relationship, if you fall, pick yourself back up and keep going. Life doesn’t always go along exactly as we’d like it; you just have to pick yourself up and move on.

I was really not sure how they would accept me being an American in Vietnam because I believe actually the Miss Universe Pageant was the first American event since the Vietnam War. I felt like I had a bull’s eye on my chest wearing my Miss USA sash, but oh boy was I wrong. They were so warm and welcoming. They kept chanting “America, America,” so I was very, very, very pleased and happy with the Vietnamese people, and I had an awesome time.

VH: I know that you’ve had a variety of other wonderful and memorable experiences, and it’s hard to pick out a couple, but what really stuck out in your mind?

CS: I went skydiving in Yuma, Ariz. It was the most amazing experience that I’ve had in my life. I mean just imagine yourself 13,500 feet in the air and jumping out of a plane. You just can’t imagine the feeling. Actually, I would recommend anyone in their lifetime if they’re able to go skydiving, they should go. The second trip I remember was actually a trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and I was able to visit the detention center there, and also on the way home, I was able to fly the plane. I was a pilot for about 30 minutes. Can you believe it? For some reason after I went skydiving, I’ve been terrified of planes and throughout my year, I was traveling so much and I was having this fear of flying. But the pilot said, “Oh you come up here, and I’ll let you fly the plane.” So I thought I’d overcome my fear if I actually knew what was going on up there. So it was really, really a great experience.

VH: During your year as Miss USA, you’ve also made a lot of charitable appearances and spoken out a lot about breast cancer. Can you tell us a little bit about how you’ve been able to educate and inform women about how they can be taking better care of themselves?

CS: Well, one of the ways that I do that is that I talk about my personal experience so people can identify with me. You know a young woman; I never thought it could happen to me. And it did. At 21 I had a breast cancer scare; I found a lump in my right breast. I did have to go through surgery to get it removed, and fortunately it was benign. But not so many women in the world are lucky and have malignant tumors. And I was scared to death. I was scared like any other woman who finds a lump in their breast. So when I tell my story and I talk about it and the fear that I had and the things that I had to go through, I think it opens up a lot of women’s eyes and it makes them listen because I’m not just a face that talks about “Oh, go and get yourself checked.” It actually happened to me and now I go to my annual screenings and I do my self exams actually every day when I step out of the shower. And that’s what I promote to the people around the country, to bring breast cancer awareness around the United States.

VH: I know that at a lot of your appearances, you’ve been talking about your “Waiting to Win” presentation. Tell us a little bit about how you came up with “Waiting to Win.”

CS: “Waiting to Win” is a speech that I came up with actually after I won the Miss Texas Pageant because that was exactly what I was doing. But it wasn’t just in pageantry; it was within different aspects of my life. It was within a relationship that I was waiting to win the perfect boyfriend or it was in my job that I was waiting to win the great promotion that I wanted. And what I talk about in this speech is how to set the goals first that you want and how to achieve it. How to make your dream become a reality as mine did last year in 2008. This is a very, very special speech to me and actually helpful to a lot of people around that world that I’ve given this speech.

I feel it was the best time for me to win the Miss Texas USA Pageant. And so I recommend to the girls to stay humble, set the goal and work hard to achieve it, but to make sure that it’s not their entire life, that they do other things and be the best that they can possibly be. I always say this, and this is what my mother said to me: You cannot aim for perfection, but you can aim for excellence in everything that you do. My mom is here in Vegas with me this week and having a great time. She would be in no other place right now. She’s just such a great person, and she just comes to mind every time I speak because she was right there with me -- every time I was down and when I was happy,

VH: If you were a judge judging this year’s contestants or any year’s contestants, what would be the three things that you would be looking for in the next titleholder?

CS: The first thing I want to make sure that I know is that person, especially in their interview, being themselves. Even if they stumble or stutter a bit that they’re being genuine, that they’re really speaking from their heart. The second thing I would look for is their classiness and their elegance. I think as Miss USA, we’re about elegance; it’s not just about sex appeal. You need to be a classy woman and a good role model. A lot of young women are watching and sending fan mail and emails. So you have to give good advice. I think the third thing that I would look for would be beauty. And I find that beauty in everyone. It is a beauty pageant, so I would look for someone who was beautiful on the inside and that it carries over to the outside. A woman who is physically fit. She doesn’t have to be stick thin, but someone that still takes care of herself physically and is very well groomed.

VH: After you give up the crown, what’s next for Crystle Stewart?

CS: Right now, I’m weighing a couple of options, but the first thing I will do is go home to Texas and take a vacation. I’ll be relaxing for a bit, and I might head back to New York and possibly start some type of an acting or entertainment career. We do have a scholarship for New York Film Academy, and it’s a two-year scholarship that I’ll be able to use in the New York area or in California. So I might be pursuing that career or you might catch me in Texas opening my finishing school.

I have a month to decide which avenues that I want to take. I will always continue my “Waiting to Win” presentation. One of the things that I do enjoy doing and hopefully my life calling is to do motivational speaking. I think I’ve touched a lot of people with the “Waiting to Win” speech, and I’m sure that I’ll be doing that throughout my career after I give up my crown.

Catching up on other Miss USA 2009 activities in the final days before the pageant:

Crystle joined with original Pussycat Doll Carmit Bacher, Chuy Bravo of E’s Chelsea Lately, Palms headliners Zowie Bowie and Madonna’s main dance man Mihran Kirakosian to support the AmeriFace charity event at Prive in Planet Hollywood. She also relaxed on a rare night off by seeing the new, hot cabaret Peepshow at Planet Hollywood. Crystle met with the cast, including Mel B and Kelly Monaco, afterward, commended them on a great show and posed for a photo center stage.

The Miss USA 2009 Pageant contestants were hosted at Rao’s in Caesars Palace. Owner Frank Pellegrino Jr. welcomed them, and then challenged them to make up teams to play the honored old game of bocce on the court he has outside the restaurant overlooking the pool.

Today, Crystle and the 51 contestants will watch as Diamond Nexus Labs unveils the new crown on the Planet Hollywood mezzanine at 3:30 p.m. As part of NBC’s “Green Is Universal” environmental initiative, this will be the first-ever green crown, with precious lab-created gemstones.

Tomorrow, Vegas Deluxe has the activity rundown of the Beauty Expo that runs in tandem with the Miss USA Pageant and our one-on-one interview with Paula Shugart, president of Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants. Then we’ll sit down for an exclusive video interview with Donald Trump, owner of the pageant, when he arrives Saturday.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Share This