Vanessa Williams’ Miss America Replacement Says Apology ‘Was About Ratings’ (Video)

“I’m not sure why she needed that apology,” Suzette Charles says

Vanessa Williams as Miss America

Former Miss America Suzette Charles thinks that the apology Vanessa Williams received from the pageant on Sunday’s telecast was not exactly genuine.

“I don’t know what that was all about. I have a feeling that was about ratings,” Charles told Inside Edition. “I think that as accomplished as she is, has worked so tirelessly for 32 years to build her career and to prove to America what she was always about, I’m not sure why she needed that apology.”

Charles also said she believes that the apology may have been about more than just taking Williams title away. “There were rumors at the time that there were terrible slurs thrown at her and her family,” she said.

Charles replaced Williams as Miss America after the pageant stripped Williams of the crown in 1984 when Penthouse published nude photos of Williams.

On Sunday, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell apologized to Williams live on the air. “On behalf of today’s organization, I want to apologize to you and to your mother, Helen Williams. I want to apologize for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less than the Miss America you are, and the Miss America you always will be.”

Watch the video here.

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