Ed, my 7-year-old daughter competed in the Lil Miss New Jersey Pageant Nov. 15 at Contemporary Hall in Trenton. I know all the girls were winners, but what occurred was a horrible experience for any young little girl to have to endure. Towards the pageant’s end they called out the the last names of five girls who made it to the final round. Two girls had the same last name, including my daughter, who stepped up, so proud and happy. Moments later as she started to answer the questions for the judges, an announcement was made in front hundreds of people telling her they had called the wrong name and my daughter needed to step off the stage. Heartbroken, my daughter went in the back and started vomiting profusely. She could not understand why this was done to her. She said “The judges did not like me?”The pageant director and her staff could have allowed both girls to remain on stage and answer the questions, and she could have explained the mixup to me after the show. The judges and director already ready knew at that point who was going to be the next Little Miss New Jersey because the judges were heard saying amongst themselves that Ms. Keys stole the show. I feel the director should not have embarassed a poor innocent little girl the way she did in front of a crowd of people. Not to mention the fact that this same incident happened to a little girl last year at the same beauty pageant. My daughter should not have been penalized for their mistake. Where is the justice for my daughter? No one cared enough to think about how this would impact a young child’s life. I understand in a competition there will always be one child who might not make it, but why give a little girl a moment of fame and than take it from her in front of a room full of people?

Angry Mom

It’s too bad that happened to your daughter, but it was a mistake. They didn’t handle it well, but it was a mistake. It’s your job as her mother to make her understand that the pageant is a contest, for fun, and it’s not the most important thing in the world. She’s 7 years old. She shouldn’t have any pressure to succeed. Maybe if you didn’t take this so seriously she wouldn’t either.—Ed. Note