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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Natasha Allas

Aired December 01, 2002 - 09:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The Miss World pageant is due to hold its finale in London next Saturday. It pulled out of Nigeria last week after a controversy over the pageant triggered sectarian riots there. At least 175 people were killed, and the fallout and criticism continues. Author and broadcaster Muriel Gray said, quoting here, "these girls will be wearing swimwear dripping with blood."
Let's talk more about this Miss World controversy with Natasha Allas. She is Miss World USA 1999-2000. Thanks for being with us.

NATASHA ALLAS, MISS WORLD USA 1999-2000: Good morning.

CALLAWAY: Good morning to you. I understand that you actually wrote a letter to the pageant requesting that they not hold the pageant in Nigeria. Did you write that before the pageant?

ALLAS: Well, I wrote it three months ago. I was asked by Amnesty International and a couple of other organizations to write a letter and express my concern. And I was concerned. I didn't think that Nigeria was exactly the best location to have the pageant.

CALLAWAY: And what did you say in the letter?

ALLAS: Just because of the political instability, because Amina, the woman who is being stoned to death for adultery, because that was happening, and just because I just thought there was so many other places that would be more appropriate for a pageant like Miss World.

CALLAWAY: Perhaps where it's not against the law?

ALLAS: Yeah. They were better received, because they were against it. And they were not welcome. And the fundamentalists said that they would riot.

CALLAWAY: And what kind of response did you get? Did they acknowledge your concern?

ALLAS: Well, I love the Miss World organization. I have had a great experience and I've had a great time ever since I reigned, but no, they didn't respond to me. And I knew that they were going ahead with the pageant and it was going to be held in Nigeria, regardless of what anybody said.

CALLAWAY: We should say that after the pageant began there, the contestants arrived, a newspaper -- a journalist in the newspaper there referred to the Prophet Mohammed and angering a lot of people. Hundreds of people were killed in the riots there. So now it has been moved to London. Do you think it should continue?

ALLAS: Yeah, absolutely, I do. It is one of the most televised events. It has an audience of two billion people. The girls are very, very, very excited. They prepare for this pageant for a long time, like I've said before. So I think as long as the girls are safe, there's no riots, there is no protests in London, that the pageant should go on.

CALLAWAY: You know, but still, on the surface, the Miss World pageant, we just saw that video, it's still going to look like hundreds of people died because of a beauty pageant.

ALLAS: Absolutely. And I think that it was an irresponsible choice to have the pageant there, especially since the adoption of Sharia law in 2000 in that state, and I do think that they owe not only a lot of people, the families of the victims, an apology, but definitely to do a tribute during the broadcast.

CALLAWAY: Next week?

ALLAS: Yeah.

CALLAWAY: And so not only do you agree that it should continue next week, but it should in the future. You know, it does seem that some trivialize the Miss World pageant in the U.S., but other countries hold it in high esteem. And the political importance of the pageant in other countries is sometimes underestimated by Americans. In fact, I understand that there are some countries that continue to hold the Miss World pageant even during a war.

ALLAS: Oh, absolutely. It's funny. I hosted a show called "Behind the Crown" that discussed this. It's amazing how in other countries, like the Colombia, the Miss Colombia pageant, the pageant becomes something that really represents the cultural identity. And in 1993, they had the Miss Colombia pageant, the drug cartels rioted, and they literally burned down the Palace of Justice, and the pageant went on. And the moment the girl was crowned, Miss Colombia, everybody stopped. It was the only moment of peace because everybody in Colombia had to see who was being crowned as Miss Colombia.

CALLAWAY: And we're looking at that video right now. It's just amazing to me that this drug war was going on and stopped so that she can be crowned Miss World. And in Sarajevo, in the middle of that war.

ALLAS: Yes. The Miss Sarajevo pageant was actually very interesting, because what they did is they did the pageant as an act of defiance, and the girls, as you're seeing on the footage, carried a banner across the stage saying, "please don't let them kill us," and it became -- this is just amidst a complete war, and there were gunshots be heard.

CALLAWAY: Right next door, in fact?

ALLAS: Right next door, right around exactly this particular room where the pageant was being held. I interviewed the American journalist who was there and he said he couldn't believe they actually went ahead with this pageant. But the girl who ended up winning went on to be -- do a lot of interviews and be a spokesperson, basically, for what was happening in her country.

And it's funny, because sometimes beauty pageants will mirror what's happening in society, and it combines a lot with political causes and what's been happening, whether or not it's controversial or not.

CALLAWAY: Natasha Allas, thank you very much for being with us, and sharing your thoughts on the pageant.

ALLAS: Thank you for having me.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 1, 2002 - 09:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The Miss World pageant is due to hold its finale in London next Saturday. It pulled out of Nigeria last week after a controversy over the pageant triggered sectarian riots there. At least 175 people were killed, and the fallout and criticism continues. Author and broadcaster Muriel Gray said, quoting here, "these girls will be wearing swimwear dripping with blood."
Let's talk more about this Miss World controversy with Natasha Allas. She is Miss World USA 1999-2000. Thanks for being with us.

NATASHA ALLAS, MISS WORLD USA 1999-2000: Good morning.

CALLAWAY: Good morning to you. I understand that you actually wrote a letter to the pageant requesting that they not hold the pageant in Nigeria. Did you write that before the pageant?

ALLAS: Well, I wrote it three months ago. I was asked by Amnesty International and a couple of other organizations to write a letter and express my concern. And I was concerned. I didn't think that Nigeria was exactly the best location to have the pageant.

CALLAWAY: And what did you say in the letter?

ALLAS: Just because of the political instability, because Amina, the woman who is being stoned to death for adultery, because that was happening, and just because I just thought there was so many other places that would be more appropriate for a pageant like Miss World.

CALLAWAY: Perhaps where it's not against the law?

ALLAS: Yeah. They were better received, because they were against it. And they were not welcome. And the fundamentalists said that they would riot.

CALLAWAY: And what kind of response did you get? Did they acknowledge your concern?

ALLAS: Well, I love the Miss World organization. I have had a great experience and I've had a great time ever since I reigned, but no, they didn't respond to me. And I knew that they were going ahead with the pageant and it was going to be held in Nigeria, regardless of what anybody said.

CALLAWAY: We should say that after the pageant began there, the contestants arrived, a newspaper -- a journalist in the newspaper there referred to the Prophet Mohammed and angering a lot of people. Hundreds of people were killed in the riots there. So now it has been moved to London. Do you think it should continue?

ALLAS: Yeah, absolutely, I do. It is one of the most televised events. It has an audience of two billion people. The girls are very, very, very excited. They prepare for this pageant for a long time, like I've said before. So I think as long as the girls are safe, there's no riots, there is no protests in London, that the pageant should go on.

CALLAWAY: You know, but still, on the surface, the Miss World pageant, we just saw that video, it's still going to look like hundreds of people died because of a beauty pageant.

ALLAS: Absolutely. And I think that it was an irresponsible choice to have the pageant there, especially since the adoption of Sharia law in 2000 in that state, and I do think that they owe not only a lot of people, the families of the victims, an apology, but definitely to do a tribute during the broadcast.

CALLAWAY: Next week?

ALLAS: Yeah.

CALLAWAY: And so not only do you agree that it should continue next week, but it should in the future. You know, it does seem that some trivialize the Miss World pageant in the U.S., but other countries hold it in high esteem. And the political importance of the pageant in other countries is sometimes underestimated by Americans. In fact, I understand that there are some countries that continue to hold the Miss World pageant even during a war.

ALLAS: Oh, absolutely. It's funny. I hosted a show called "Behind the Crown" that discussed this. It's amazing how in other countries, like the Colombia, the Miss Colombia pageant, the pageant becomes something that really represents the cultural identity. And in 1993, they had the Miss Colombia pageant, the drug cartels rioted, and they literally burned down the Palace of Justice, and the pageant went on. And the moment the girl was crowned, Miss Colombia, everybody stopped. It was the only moment of peace because everybody in Colombia had to see who was being crowned as Miss Colombia.

CALLAWAY: And we're looking at that video right now. It's just amazing to me that this drug war was going on and stopped so that she can be crowned Miss World. And in Sarajevo, in the middle of that war.

ALLAS: Yes. The Miss Sarajevo pageant was actually very interesting, because what they did is they did the pageant as an act of defiance, and the girls, as you're seeing on the footage, carried a banner across the stage saying, "please don't let them kill us," and it became -- this is just amidst a complete war, and there were gunshots be heard.

CALLAWAY: Right next door, in fact?

ALLAS: Right next door, right around exactly this particular room where the pageant was being held. I interviewed the American journalist who was there and he said he couldn't believe they actually went ahead with this pageant. But the girl who ended up winning went on to be -- do a lot of interviews and be a spokesperson, basically, for what was happening in her country.

And it's funny, because sometimes beauty pageants will mirror what's happening in society, and it combines a lot with political causes and what's been happening, whether or not it's controversial or not.

CALLAWAY: Natasha Allas, thank you very much for being with us, and sharing your thoughts on the pageant.

ALLAS: Thank you for having me.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com