Following the exposure of the moral turpitude underpinning the crimes catalogued in the Epstein files, and additional reporting by The Guardian that former U.S. President Donald Trump and other wealthy individuals allegedly operated beauty pageants as a front for facilitating the sexual exploitation of teenage girls, the world has suddenly found itself grappling with an uncomfortable question: does the very concept of rich, older men ogling teenage girls and bluntly objectifying their bodies as beauty pageant judges fundamentally lend itself to nefarious abuse?
No one is more torn up about the issue than the parents of past contestants, who are now reevaluating some of their most cherished memories from the years their daughters competed to be crowned beauty queens. One such parent, Gary Smith, has set up an online support group where parents of teen beauty pageant contestants can share their experiences and support one another.
The group, which was only launched on Monday, 9 February 2026, has already attracted more than 2,000 members, with over 10,000 messages posted on its board.
“I just don’t know what to think anymore. Nothing makes sense. For the last 20 years, my fondest memory with my daughter was the time when a rich old man judging her teen beauty pageant—who was pointing out all sorts of ‘imperfections’ in the bodies of other girls—told my baby girl that she had the perfect figure and later joked that she was ‘hot enough to make going to jail worthwhile,’” wrote one parent, Steve K.
Amanda S confessed: “When the judge of my daughter’s beauty pageant kicked her out for not having the perfect waistline and for having a ‘very forgetful face and body overall,’ she and I thought of nothing but how we could win his approval the following year, which was to be her last chance to compete before she crossed the maximum participation age threshold. Though she was eliminated again at the beginning of the contest, that year was still a great bonding experience for us as we trained relentlessly and endured her torturous diet regimen. The only thing that kept us going through the starvation and the pain of her impossible workout routine was the hope that, in the end, he might stare at her just as intently and whistle upon her arrival on stage just as loudly as he did for some of the others. But now, after seeing his name in all the newspapers—accused of the most vile acts—I am beginning to wonder if I scarred my daughter’s life—with the nervous breakdown that followed when she was rejected early in that final year—just for the attention of a twisted, old pervert.”
Yet the gloom of past contestants and their parents does not appear to have dampened the enthusiasm of current teen beauty pageant contestants or their families. Many pageants around the world have received record-breaking numbers of entrants this year. When asked about their views on the regret expressed by numerous others who were once in their shoes, many have been quick to point out that “none of the parents whining about the mistreatment of their daughters had a winner.”
