Miss USA 2012
| Miss USA 2012 | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 3, 2012 |
| Presenters | Andy Cohen, Giuliana Rancic, Jeannie Mai, Kelly Osbourne |
| Entertainment | Akon, Cobra Starship |
| Venue | The AXIS, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Broadcaster | NBC, Telemundo |
| Entrants | 51 |
| Placements | 16 |
| Winner |
Olivia Culpo Rhode IslandReplaced by: Nana Meriwether  Maryland
|
| Congeniality |
Rebecca Hodge  Iowa
|
| Photogenic |
Alaina Bergsma  Oregon
|
Rebecca Hodge
Alaina Bergsma
Miss USA 2012, the 61st Miss USA pageant, was held on June 3, 2012, at the The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. Culpo represented the USA and became the eighth American to win Miss Universe.
Pageant protocol forces Culpo to "resign" her Miss USA title in order to be Miss Universe. In this case, the first runner-up, Nana Meriwether, who competed as Miss Maryland USA 2012, inherited the Miss USA title. Meriwether became the first woman from Maryland to hold the Miss USA title; the first time a woman from Maryland won Miss USA was in 1957 with Mary Leona Gage who was dethroned shortly after winning.
The 50 states and the District of Columbia competed for the prestigious title. The pageant was televised live on NBC in the U.S.A. The full preliminary round, as well as highlights from the event, is available over Xbox Live via their YouTube and MSN applications.
For the first time, a question was solicited from Twitter for the final question asked of one of the five finalists. That question picked by the pageant organizers - "Would you feel it would be fair that a transgender woman wins the Miss USA title over a natural-born woman?" - was answered by the winner, Culpo.
Miss Pennsylvania USA Sheena Monnin claimed that the outcome was predetermined, a charge the organizing committee strongly denied, despite being corroborated by other contestants.
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