The obscure ReelzChannel has decided to save the 2015 Miss USA Pageant by agreeing to broadcast it live on July 12 from Baton Rouge. The pageant was dropped by both Univision and NBC in the wake of Donald Trump’s remarks about Mexican immigrants when he announced his run for the presidency last month.
The network announced the news on Facebook this morning and they also issued a statement to Deadline.
“The decision on the part of Reelz to acquire the rights to the Miss USA Pageant was based on our belief that this special event, and the women who compete in it, are an integral part of American tradition,” CEO Stan E. Hubbard said. “As one of only a few independent networks, we decided to exercise our own voice and committed ourselves to bringing this pageant to American viewers everywhere.”
This is actually the second time Reelz has come in to save a hot potato no one else wanted. In 2011, the network famously saved The Kennedys miniseries with Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes after The History Channel dropped it. Reelz is even working on a sequel series.
There is one issue Reelz and the Miss Universe Organization still faces - finding talent to fill up time in the pageant. Cheryl Burke already quit as co-host and The Associated Press confirmed that Flo Rida and judge Emmitt Smith also backed out. The Voice winner Craig Wayne Boyd and singer Natalie La Rose were the only other scheduled performers and they have also backed out.
Trump threatened to sue NBC for dropping the pageant and has already filed a $500 million lawsuit against Univision.
image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski/INFphoto.com