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Recorded live to tape, September 17th, 1983. Presented in context with ads for the purposes of historical preservation. It would seem whoever recorded it, also added a news clip that would air later about Vanessa Williams from Entertainment Tonight…(read more at source)
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I'm here to see the historic moment that Vanessa Williams– the first black american crowned Miss America. Beautiful memory ❤️
Miss Missouri went on to Miss USA 1986 but didn't place.
I remember reading that Miss New York was the favorite to win.
Today, Miss America would send her abdication speech out on a quick tweet.
Wow, Lee Meriwether is stunning.
She may well have been the one Miss America who stood out from her peers more than any other. She was an overwhelming choice, and rightly so. Judgment itself is such nasty thing, and humans do it so well.
yep – Miss Williams really had "IT" soooo much more than the other girls
My goodness – Vanessa Williams was SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL – and she still is.
Love Miss America 1984. I don't care that she posed nude. And apparently the Miss America Organization did not care either. The Miss America Organization apologize to her for any harm that the Miss America Organization had caused her and she is now known and will forever be Miss America 1984 and Miss New Jersey will always be the 1st runner up as it should be. Love you Vanessa Williams.
Miss Mississippi should have placed higher, imo, she had a awesome talent and swimsuit. Better than SC for sure.
Damn…miss Alabama can play that piano!!
Vanessa is the only miss America that actually kept herself going after the pageant. She should not have lost her crown.
Good lord…was the theme 'My Mother's Closet' ?
im so glad nessa showed all them she is a real winner!!!!!
I wonder if the first 9 called were thinking and hoping….maybe, maybe…that beautiful and talented woman from NY won't make the Top 10.
2:01:28 winner
1:44:38 Vanessa Williams on education and also walking in a swimsuit
Pamela Rigas had the unfortunate opportunity to compete against two juggernauts: Shawn Weatherly and Vanessa Williams.
My Favourite Miss America Proud of you Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Williams gets apology from Miss America 32 years later. https://youtu.be/XrwF5FxGEOQ
To this day, Vanessa Williams and Suzette Charles (‘84) and Terry Muessen (‘73) are the best talent presentations in pageant history. They all sang Streisand.
Amazing to think Miss America was once disqualified for having nude faux-lesbian photos…meanwhile 30+
years later, the first Lady of the USA had nude faux-lesbian photos! Reminds me of the Virginia Slims ad of the day…"You've come a long way, baby"
38:24 is so creepy 😭 like these are siblingssss
Where are all the lesbians?
FUN FACT: Vanessa didn't lose her title because she took nude photos, she lost it because they were "lesbian" photos.
How did they make a group of 17-25 yr olds look 40-55?
Are they robots?
No nice elegant sophisticated walks with attitude
Greetings, debunkmates
Vanessa should have won, but Suzette was the BEST pop singer ever on the Miss A stage. I was there and, at rehearsal when Suzette sang, a very inattentive audience was stunned.
Very interesting clips…thanks for including the Nightline interviews. Whoever thought that nearly 40 years after the fact, the woman from Penthouse would be making more sense than Tawny and the “feminist”?! The true irony here is that Tawny probably regrets the comments she made at this time as much as Vanessa regrets posing for the pictures she did at that time. As history showed us, the pictures may have indeed made Vanessa more famous than she ever would have been as simply the first Black Miss America…and perhaps the MA pageant proved to be the most infamous party involved by forcing her to resign.
Never realized how much Suzette Charles looks alot like Halle Berry.
Wonder what the odds are Al Marks ever paid for a prostitute.
I am so glad that Vanessa Williams kept all the hate mail and death threats she received for being the first black Miss America so she could print it years later in her autobiography.