A fifth Miss Teen USA pageant contestant came forward Wednesday night to say that like four others who have spoken to BuzzFeed News, she recalled Donald Trump entering the group dressing room while teenagers were changing their clothes during the 1997 pageant.



“It was certainly the most inappropriate time to meet us all for the first time,” said Victoria Hughes, the former Miss New Mexico Teen USA, in an email. “The youngest girl was 15, and I was the eldest at 19.”

BuzzFeed News reported the four other contestants’ accounts on Wednesday morning.

Trump owned the Miss Teen USA pageant along with Miss USA and Miss Universe from 1996 until last year. In a recording from The Howard Stern Show that was released Saturday by CNN, Trump publicly bragged about going backstage to see contestants while “everyone’s getting dressed.”

“No men are anywhere, and I’m allowed to go in, because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it,” Trump said in 2005. “‘Is everyone OK?’ You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody OK?’ And you see these incredible-looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.”

But he appeared to be talking about adult contestants. Until BuzzFeed News’ report Wednesday morning, it had never been alleged that he did this with teenage contestants.

Hughes’ comments came in a response to an email BuzzFeed News sent her on Monday seeking comment.

“We actually never once saw him during the two-week period until he came into the dressing room prior to the show,” said Hughes, referring to the two weeks of rehearsals leading up to the pageant. In a subsequent email, she elaborated: “I was the eldest delegate at age 19 and was in the very back of the large dressing room. I recall chaperones saying that we had a visitor and to get covered up,” she wrote. “The black curtains opened and in walks Mr. Trump smiling. He wished us all good luck, did not stay very long and left. As teenagers, it no doubt caught us off guard, as the timing of the entrance could've been better and less awkward for us all.”

Another woman, former Miss Vermont Teen USA Mariah Billado, told BuzzFeed News that when Trump walked in, she recalled “putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here.’” According to Billado, Trump said something like, “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before.”