Today In History with The Retrospectors Vanessa Williams vs. Miss America
The first Black Miss America, Vanessa Williams, was crowned in Atlantic City on 17th September, 1983, with the usual fanfare. But within ten months, she had returned her crown, following a nude photo scandal.
She had already received hate mail and even death threats - some from racist whites who hated seeing a Black Miss America, others from Black critics who felt her light skin and blue eyes played into white beauty standards. But then, without her consent, Penthouse announced it would publish explicit photos of Vanessa taken years earlier when she was an aspiring teenage model.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Williams rebuilt her career from scratch, via Disney, Broadway, hit songs, and movies; discover the moment the pageant formally apologised to her, after 32 years; and trace the overt and covert racism in Miss America’s long history…
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE: because today members of Club Retrospectors have an extra bonus bit where we peruse the infamous 15th anniversary edition of Penthouse, and recall earlier attempts to install a Black Miss America…
Further Reading:
• ‘On Saturday night Vanessa Williams became the first black woman crowned Miss America’ (UPI, 1983):
• ‘Why Vanessa Williams Gave Up Her Miss America Crown’ (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3961120/miss-america-scandal-vanessa-williams/
• ‘Miss America 1984: Crowning Moment’ (NBC, 1983): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwBmoNXrr0w
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.
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