Beauty queen is deposed

A COURT has brought down the curtain on the stranger-than-fiction saga of battling beauty queens, allegations of topless photos and a judge intent on protecting “a significant part of Americana.”

Judge James Fox rejected Rebekah Revels' bid to force the Miss America Organisation to let her, the original Miss North Carolina 2002, and Misty Clymer, the runner-up who replaced her, compete in the Miss America Pageant.

Immediately after the judge's decision, Miss America boss George Bauer declared Revels out, clearing the runway for Clymer to compete as North Carolina's entry at the contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey, next weekend.

"This is bittersweet for me," Clymer said today. "I feel bad that Rebekah can't complete her lifelong dream of competing in the pageant, but I think we'll both be fine."

Revels said there was no animosity between the two.

"We're both Southern ladies and we can deal with this," Revels said.

The judge said Miss America the icon helped guide his decision.

"The Miss America pageant over the years, by virtue largely of its contestants, has become a significant part of Americana," said Judge Fox, sitting in Wilmington, North Carolina, who heard nearly a week of legal arguments and testimony.

In a very real sense, Miss America represents America.

Revels, a 24-year-old English teacher, won the Miss North Carolina contest in June but resigned after a former boyfriend told Miss America officials in an e-mail that he had topless photos of her taken in 1998.

No photos ever surfaced.

Revels contended she was given a quit-or-be-fired ultimatum by pageant officials. Pageant officials contended that once she resigned, the title belonged to Clymer, the first runner-up.