Why Miss Universe doesn’t miss TRUMP!
He ran the contest for 20 years but the new owner of the Irish franchise is glad the US president is no longer involved
Miss Universe Ireland’s new director Brittany Mason, 31, has the illuminating smile you would expect of a former American pageant queen but two words ratchet down its wattage: Donald Trump.
We meet in a Dublin hotel – Brittany brings along this year’s winner, crowned last month, Cork woman Cailín Áine Ní Tóibín – and both statuesque beauties squirm in their armchairs at the mention of America’s president.
‘No! No, Donald Trump, no. No, no, no!’ says Brittany, emphatically, relieved that he is no longer involved in the organisation he ran like a randy schoolboy for almost 20 years. ‘We’re run by IMG now. This company is owned by a woman and run by women for women.’
Trump may have taken a particular shine to Brittany, overseeing her Miss Indiana win in 2008 and singling her out in his infamous line-up inspection at the Miss Universe USA finals where she placed seventh. But that same year she went on to campaign for the Democrats, working closely with Hillary Clinton and then meeting Barack Obama and being present when he was sworn into office.
All the same, Brittany concedes, of Trump: ‘He did like me, which was nice. It was flattering, I have to say. The first time I met him I was actually 18, it was an after-party for Miss Universe and I met him, Melania and Billy Bush – who was also in the Trump Tapes – and Michael Phelps, all at the same time,’ she says, of her 2005 encounter.
‘ They were all involved in Miss Universe that year. Trump was professional, there was nothing inappropriate. It was a professional setting,’ she insists, though perhaps Melania’s presence had some influence over that. ‘ The next time I met him was at Miss USA when he did the line-up and met each of us that were representing each state. He did stop and we spoke for a moment.
‘It seemed as if he remembered me from the brief meeting we had years before. He didn’t really stop to talk to any other contestant and you could tell who he liked from that line-up, it was clear. [But] he was always professional with me.’
The same year she met him for the first time, Trump bragged on Howard Stern’s radio show of going backstage to see the young contestants getting dressed. ‘I have no memory of him ever coming into the dressing room or doing anything inappropriate in that sense,’ says Brittany.
It was also the same year he was recorded in conversation with his TV presenter pal and fellow Republican Billy Bush saying: ‘When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the *****.’
‘When those tapes came out, I want to say I was shocked but I wasn’t that shocked that things like that were coming out of his mouth. Because, let’s face it, Donald Trump has a long history of speaking in this way,’ says Brittany, recoiling.
Trump was forced to sell the Miss Universe organisation in September 2015 when hosts, sponsors and broadcasters pulled out of the pageant after he characterised Mexicans as rapists and criminals during his presidential campaign kick- off event. Not before he had shrunk the bikinis, though. ‘Yeah, he’s on record as saying he made the swimsuits smaller. That’s why I am so excited to be a woman in this position as director,’ says Brittany, who hosted her first ‘magical’ Miss Universe Ireland contest in Dublin’s Mansion House last week.
‘I think people probably took notice that the swimwear portion of this competition is not about
being a specific size, it’s not about making it sexy. It’s about celebrating all the womanly curves and being a woman and confident in your body no matter what shape or size it is.
‘I actually added fabric on to the back of the swimsuits to make it more of a romantic feel for the performance of the show. Like a skirt on the back,’ she clarifies, adding that for the first time in the Irish competition there was a plus-size contestant and a Muslim contestant.
‘I understand a lot of people think it’s sexist and I invite them to come to the show and really see what the organisation is truly about. We have tried to make a very clear message of what the new era is about and that’s empowering women.’
It’s impossible not to be impressed by Brittany, who moved to Ireland with her partner, aviation businessman Steven Patch, on New Year’s Eve 2015. She had a chaotic childhood, raised by a couple of aunts and uncles until her mother married her stepfather. She only met her biological father for the first time shortly before moving here.
‘ There wasn’t really stability for me,’ she said, when we first met last year. If life at home was painful, school was unbearable. Brittany was the victim of outrageous bullying – her family’s property was damaged, their cars keyed, red paint was thrown in the driveway to symbolise blood and headless Barbie dolls were chucked in for good measure. She attempted suicide aged 15 but, very fortunately, was unsuccessful. How she triumphed over the hardest of starts to carve out a career for herself in the tough worlds of modelling and pageantry is testament to her resilience. Now she is bringing that drive and optimism to the Miss Universe Ireland contest.
‘It’s unbelievable to think of where I came from and where I am now – there’s such a drastic contrast,’ she says. ‘I owe so much to the Miss Universe organisation because in a lot of ways competing in the pageant actually saved me. It was my way out. It is how I learned the tools I needed to become successful.’ No wonder she feels so passionate about making a success of it here. Previously model agent Andrea Roche owned the Miss Universe Ireland franchise, though there was no event last year. ‘Honestly I’m not sure why there wasn’t because I think at that point that’s when Andrea still had it, but it’s not really clear. She had a child last year too and, yeah, she has a lot going on,’ says Brittany. ‘I did not buy the franchise from Andrea, I bought it from the Miss Universe organisation.’
Did Andrea mind? ‘We’ve had some discussions and I believe she’s very happy that I have it. I work with Andrea and we have a very good relationship,’ says Brittany, who is a model at the AR agency.
The price of the Miss Universe franchise varies wildly depending on the size of the country. Brittany won’t say what she paid for it but she got the franchise in May and had just three months to put the production together.
‘I said goodbye to my summer,’ she says. ‘It truly is a huge job. I’m so grateful to all the people who got involved and stepped up on such a short amount of time. It’s been a lot of work. I’ve been building my team and it’s very important to me that we have the right energy involved.’
Trying to find Irish sponsors was a challenge Brittany perhaps had not anticipated. ‘People weren’t really understanding what I was trying to build with this. Of course I was constantly being told, “Oh this is sexist and Ireland will never accept this”. I said, “No, but you don’t understand, this is actually empowering for women!” It’s an amazing thing when it’s done in the way that it should be. Luckily because of my background working in fashion and entertainment for the past 15 years I reached out to some of my resources.’
Overseeing every little detail and personally mentoring all 30 finalists, Brittany went overboard to make her debut a success.
‘I put so much into this that actually my health was affected. I got sick several times. I was on four rounds of antibiotics, I had to get a steroid shot in my bum – I’ve never had that happen before! My immune system was down because I wasn’t sleeping enough at night.
‘I lost 10lbs and I didn’t realise it until I was putting my pants on to do our first interview with Cailín and those pants were loose on me,’ she exclaims, wide- eyed. ‘I knew that a lot was weighing on this event and I wanted to give it my all. So I literally put every ounce of my energy in it to make it what it was.’
Brittany’s office is in her home on Merrion Square, where she lives with Alfie the pomeranian and her handsome beau. She seems content. ‘I love it here,’ she says. ‘I love the people and it’s been so exciting. It’s been such a whirlwind and an adventure. It all happened so quickly – discussing it with my partner, moving here. I’m so grateful that his career is doing very well here and it was a great career move for me as well. Like I said, this is the dream job, to be able to give back and help other women pursue their dreams.’