Not a fan. Bob Goen, who cohosted Miss Universe in 1996, recently called out Donald Trump’s bashing of then-winner Alicia Machado in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I think his position is inexcusable,” Goen told the site of how Trump, 70, jumped to his own defense when Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton slammed him for picking on Machado because of her post-victory weight gain. “I thought it was self-serving. I’m not a fan of the way this was handled.”
The Republican presidential nominee took to Twitter on Tuesday, September 27, to call Machado the “worst [Miss Universe] we ever had,” adding that she “gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem.”
The real estate mogul even pointed to an alleged sex tape that Machado, now 39, had made — a claim that has since been proven untrue.
Trump’s angry retort came after Clinton, 68, criticized him during the first presidential debate for his previous comments about Machado, whom he had called “Miss Housekeeping” and “Miss Piggy.”
In a 1997 press conference, the former Apprentice host even called the beauty queen an “eating machine” and suggested that she had an eating disorder because she ate “too much.” (Machado appeared on the Today show on Wednesday, September 28, to reveal that Trump’s cruel words had contributed to her battle against bulimia and anorexia.)
According to Goen, his interaction with Machado during the 1996 pageant was pleasant, and she gave no indication of the sour attitude Trump is accusing her of.
“She was really enjoying the moment,” Goen, 61, said. “She was enjoying her chance to shine in the spotlight. She seemed very upbeat, and she seemed comfortable with the position, and that was it.”
The Venezuelan native has since become a U.S. citizen, and wrote on Instagram in August that she fully plans to use her vote against Trump. “Miss Housekeeping and Miss Piggy Can Vote,” she captioned an image of herself waving a tiny American flag.
