Vanessa Williams: Miss America Pageant Sees Her Return After Three Decades

Vanessa Williams has had a difficult time with her status in the past. Her Miss America pageant win in 1984 had been tainted by the publishing of old photos in Penthouse, and she had been forced to give back the crown.

Even the re-surfacing of Williams’ infamous photos from “The Fappening” aren’t going to keep her from returning to the pageant now. The 52-year-old African-American singer and actress is planning to return to the pageant as a judge.

Vanessa has certainly moved on with a positive career since losing her Miss America crown. According to Fox News, she could have fought to keep her crown, but it might have meant having her name removed from the pageant’s history and possibly losing a chance at a successful music career and a similarly positive career in front of the camera.

Sam Haskell, executive chairman and CEO of the Miss America pageant, offered kind words about her from those days, admitting to their friendship at the time.

“I have been friends with Vanessa for 32 years. When the photos were published, there were people urging her to fight, but close supporters knew if she lost that fight that she would be completely removed from the history books. Instead of pursuing what would surely have been a long and stressful legal battle, Vanessa decided to resign and focus on her career. Vanessa and her family were hurt during the aftermath of the resignation, and that saddened me.”

It was Haskell’s pleasure to have Vanessa Williams back on the show, and he described it as a “huge success… a way for us all to move forward and put the past behind us.”

Vanessa had revealed the news to Good Morning America host Robin Roberts, giving her own memory of the scandal, according to News One.

“That’s one of the problems that I’ve had to deal with for my career. Not only being a Miss America, but being a scandalous Miss America. It was two drastically different images. That was the issue. It was Miss America who’s really kind of untouched in that reality. And then there was this woman in a picture.”

Vanessa Williams’ involvement in the 2016 Miss America pageant is what Dick Clark Productions President Mick Mahan calls “a special cultural and television moment. We are both honored and excited that she will take center stage for the 95th Anniversary of the competition.”

Are you excited to see the former ex-Miss America return to the pageant on Sunday, September 13?

[Image via Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images]