Vanessa Williams

Because she was beautiful and talented, and the rest of us aren’t prudes??

She's the most talented Miss America and was able to create a great career in modeling, acting, and singing despite the whole Miss America debacle.

I love her.

When asked a decade or two ago what her single biggest regret was, she said it was her involvement in the Miss America pageant.

(Not the nudie photos.)

Funny she couldn't be Miss America because of those photos but now she could be First Lady

Fair point. The level of hypocrisy is stunning. Almost anyone can access Melania's porn photos, but most of the media has chosen to ignore them completely for years now.

Vanessa was practically nailed to a cross for her photos.

She never wanted to be a pageant queen. She won the first pageant she entered. She'd always wanted to be a singer, actress and performer. She was not defeated by Miss America. She kept at it until she broke through. And yes, she is beautiful so that certainly helped.

All of that was nearly 40 years ago.

She star was much bigger than Miss America.

Miss America apologized to her

Because she worked hard and she does have talent. The Right Stuff and especially Dreamin' proved she could sing. Ugly Betty proved she could act. And she is beautiful.

"Sometimes the snow comes down in June..."

Vanessa and her then-manager later husband handled her comeback/reinvention brilliantly. They didn't downplay her beauty but they emphasized her singing talent, that she was a trained and skilled performer. She worked her ass off and created an elegant image. She really arrived when she took over for Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman on Broadway, and knocked people's socks off. With that, she had a new gravitas - she'd made people see her differently and the Playboy stuff was as laid to rest as it would ever be.

I believe being dethroned was the best thing to happen to her. Everyone new her name. Thankfully she had talent to fall back on.

You are right about the nasty and naked Melania pics being swept under the rug R5. My Democrat MIL, who abhors Trump, had absolutely no idea what a nasty whore gold digger she is. She actually said she feels sorry for her and talked about how beautiful she is. WTF??? Not sure how you can tell if she is beautiful or not when she can no longer open her eyes beyond a squint.

She didn’t do anything wrong.

She’s beautiful and poised.

Lots of people get second chances.

Unlike the other Miss Americas, she really was talented and wasn't just singing really loudly.

Talent will find its way.

She publicly admitted that she continued to hook up with Rick Fox after their divorce and who could blame her?

God I bet their children are gorgeous.

Yup.

She was in "Trip to Bountiful" with Cicely Tyson. She was wonderful but also represented an image, the spoiled, light skinned black woman. In one of the scenes, Carrie is talking to her son and we hear the car honk offstage and it gets one of the biggest laughs of the night because it's so much in character with what we expect Williams to do.

She's was criminally underused on Desperate Housewives. Her best performance was saving Bree from suicide and moving in with her for company and solace.

Desperate Housewives never knew what to do with any of the actresses they brought in, Vanessa, Dana, Alfrie, or that Sopranos woman

Loved her as the uptight ice queen in Soul Food.

Like many pop culture "scandals," the only ones who cared were the media (who profited from it) and right wing wack jobs (who profited from it). No one else cared. She's a lovely young woman with a lovely body. A real scandal would had erupted had she been fat or old.

Has anyone here actually seen the photos? It one, Vanessa is photographed eating out a woman. Not that there's anything wrong with that but if you think the pictures were merely tasteful, demure nudes, you're wrong.

She resigned as Miss America in 1984 and she had a Top Ten hit on the Billboard pop charts in 1988. Yes, I'd agree that the "scandal" helped ignite her career since it certainly boosted her profile.

R22= Suzette Charles, still waiting for her call from the Cosby Show.

That's a crock of bullshit R22. She was not photographed eating a woman out.

[quote]she'd made people see her differently and the Playboy stuff was as laid to rest as it would ever be.

Penthouse, not Playboy.

Well she was kind of...but they were kind of artful pics. Black and white anyway.

She entered the Miss Syracuse pageant because she went to school at Syracuse, she won that, won Miss NY State. I was so proud of her be an Upstater - even though she wasn't really. I felt so bad for her when she lost the crown. My friend went to HS with her in Westchester, said she was a dramarama and had bad acne.

Her version of Scrooge is my fave

She got a second chance because she has light skin and is gorgeous. She was ESPECIALLY gorgeous back then. A very pretty, light skinned, bi-racial woman who also happens to have a perfect looking body, and looks fantastic in beautiful clothing, and speaks as if though she is a well educated white person, will ALWAYS get second chances, because the people giving out those second chances, are white men. And in entertainment, specifically, the consumers of the products released by these bi-racial women, are accept, well liked, and purchased, by white women, white men, AA men, & AA women.

Not sure if 100% white, gay men and women are aware of this, but there isn’t much that white men love, than a woman who looks like Vanessa Williams, or Halle Berry. And I say this from personal experience. As long as the woman is pretty, is thin & well proportioned, dress well, is biracial, is culturally white, meaning speaks “white”, with zero southern drawls, or urban speak, AND has facial features that are European, meaning tiny noses, not too large of lips, a pretty smile, high cheekbones, and large, perfectly set eyes, that may or may not be green or hazel, but better if the eyes are, these white guys will fall all over themselves to give them second chances.

This is ESPECIALLY true in Hollywood and even in New York. It’s why most of these women end up married to white guys.

They are NOT perceived as black, and eventually, they are not even perceived as biracial. And trust me when I say that even when you remind them that you are biracial, they will tell you you are WHITE. LMAO.

The one problem these women DO face, socially, is that depending on where they live, white women and even black women, usually hate them. Expect no friendships or just a few friends, if biracial and attractive in the South. However, the South goes as Hollywood and NY goes, when it comes to the men. The men there, fall all over these chicks too.

Vanessa nudes, & graphic porn pics made her a superstar. Halle Berry literally hit a pedestrian who was VERY injured, with her SUV, in West Hollywood. Rather than stopping and attempting to call 911, and attempt to assist the injured, as well as police reports, sobriety field tests, etc., Halle took off in her SUV, & called her “fixer”, who made it possible for Halle to not be charged with a felony hit and run, and serve mandatory jail time. She never got arrested, never got finger printed, never even faced the justice any black man or even black woman, could have EVER dreamed of dodging. She went on to work non-stop, win an Academy Award, have kids, marriages, messy divorces, and unlike JLaw, and other A list actresses, Halle 100% escaped the microscope of the #metoo movement, and NO ONE questioned, how she also, got an Academic Award under a Weinstein/Miramax film, nor did anyone scrutinize her decades long relationship with someone who has been accused of sexual misconduct and improper behaviors, toward other actresses in the biz.

You think Mo’Nique, or any other overweight, “urban” actress would have received this type of protection?

Nope.

With Oprah being the exception, and because Oprah hit the ratings jackpot IMMEDIATELY, and very quickly became a decision maker and literal boss, these “second chances”, or any type of success, in any field, or preferential treatment, or protection from actual laws and the justice system, or PR havens from the storm, are only offered to women of color, who look like Vanessa Williams, and Halle Berry, because the people who have this power, are white, straight men. This thread might disappear, just because it mentions Halle. No surprise.

P.S.: I do not begrudge Halle her success, however, Halle, like multiple actresses who won Academy Awards under the Miramax umbrella, did not deserve that AA. She was good, but she wasn’t that good, & I am glad she got it, but that was not the kind of performance that merits an AA for Best Actress. Ditto for Goop, for Shakespeare in Love, so no exceptions here.

I loved her in Dance With Me! The movie didn't get great reviews, but I never understood why. Plus I liked her chemistry with Chayanne.

R28: Interesting post. However not all of we white guys, be we gay or straight think the lighter skinned the better. I don't like pert little noses, or any of the traits you mentioned.

R24, One photo had Vanessa kneeling in front of another woman, both nude, with Vanessa's extended tongue just touching the other woman's pubes.

[quote] she was a dramarama and had bad acne

She did commercials for Pro-active, anti acne cream

I think she lives in the same town as the Clintons, Chappaqua, NY

Yeah she was from near there my friend grew up in Chapp..and Vanessa doesn't have a button nose. She had light skin and hair but has African features, full lips, broader nose. Still gorgeous.

R30, agreed. I find beauty in all features and configurations, because beautiful or real, physical beauty, presents as such, regardless of pert little noses, etc. That said, those particular features of euro-black women, translated in from the 1970s to the early to mid 2000s, as more palatable for wide audiences, across multiple demographics, and were specifically preferred in the entertainment industry for film, television, and even some music genres, when decision makers were evaluating the entire “package”, offered by the performer. We’re talking mass sales, which performers are a device used, in which those mass sales are generated by. Mariah Carey, Vanessa Williams, Whitney Houston, Halle Berry, and even Allyah, are examples of this.

When rap hit the scene, it paved the way for middle Americans to become exposed to urban AA culture, and paved the way for AA women of all shapes, weights, sizes, and varying skin tones, and hairstyles, to get in on the game, however, before that, the road to mainstream, critically acclaimed, success and profits, thereof, was pretty rigid for women of color. Even girl groups and standout performers in the 60s, had to conform to some of this ethnic-Caucasian aesthetic, in order to perform on TV. Tina Turner and others broke out of that, but using Tina as an example, she also achieved mainstream success as a solo artist very quickly, because she already had a long & lucrative career as a performer behind her, rather than attempting to begin one from scratch.

The market is totally different now, thank goodness. I loathe cutesy performers who still follow this formula, like Arianna Grande, but hey-she proves that it still works, and works really, really well.

saw her house on one of those cable "haunted homes" or something like that shows... her home was ugly on the outside, and very very dark on the inside... horrible in every way, of all the places she could live she chose that?..

I remember being surprised at at her nude pictures because they weren’t boudoir style.

Vanessa probably introduced rimming to a significant percentage of Americans.

Does she have a Tony?

Here is the pic that R24 says doesn’t exist

She's getting right in there.

Vanessa was more of a pillow princess, I guess.

The "I was poor, I needed the money" story never made sense to me. When I heard Williams' story that she was sexually abused as a child, the poor decision making made more sense. Was she also a cokehead/party girl?

I like her too, but something about her story has never added up. It’s not like the photos were just pictures of her naked by herself, but they were practically soft-core pron of her simulating sex with another woman. I don’t care if she was only 18 or 19 - nobody would agree to do photos like that unless A) they were into that type of thing and/or B) They were paid REALLY good money.

If my boss asked me to do something like that, I would have immediately quit and turned him. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

R43 OMG we practically posted the same thing!

Williams has said that she was sexually abused by another female when Williams was a child. Hypersexual behavior is pretty common among victims of child sex abuse.

Years ago I was sort of humiliatingly fired from my job. It was a long story and I won in the end but it was still very difficult. And for me, thinking about what Vanessa Williams went through before her big success really helped me. It was a huge public humiliation and it wasn’t clear the public would accept her back. She worked hard and talent and won. She’s an inspiration to me.

You were accessing porn on your work computer?

r35 Ariana Grande is not black.

Those photos are so tame today, even the pussy-licking one. But that was back in the Reagan 80s, when a photo like that had people clutching their pearls.

Tina did not achieve solo success very quickly. The remained of the 1970s was not a great time for her. She had flop album after flop album before hitting paydirt in the UK.

I don't know... is analingus standard in softcore?

Before computers, r48. I’m an elder gay.

[Quote] Before computers, [R48]. I’m an elder gay.

... stone tablets?

We've had a number of people post here over the years who say that she's a complete delight to work with. I imagine that counts for a lot.

The brown skinned Vanessa Williams (Melrose Place, New Jack City, Candyman, Soul Food the tv show, etc.) is still gorgeous too. The reason light skinned VW adds the “L” to her name whenever she does movies is because brown skin VW was the first to join SAG. They used to get each other’s mail too.

Vanessa Williams recently played the mother of Vanessa L. Williams daughter in a TV movie. Marla Gibbs was in it as well.

I saw her in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods. I was not prepared for how stunningly beautiful she would be. I literally could not take my eyes off her whenever she was on stage during the second act (when she transformed from the ugly witch to the beautiful witch).

I will say that as a singer, she was not able to wrap her mouth around the complex lyrics the way Bernadette Peters could, but it did not matter because she was so beautiful.

Yeah. As a singer, she's not all that special. The voice is pleasant enough but there isn't much interesting in her interpretation.

she always had a pleasant voice that worked with the songs she sang and let's face it great beauty helped if she was plain jane don't know how far she would have got as a singing/pop star (in this regard she reminds me of olivia newton john).. .. i do though sometimes take issue with her over pronounced mouth and lips gestures when she sings some words or the end of a lyric/phrase, gets it's just her own style.

favorite song of hers is still "dreamin"...

[quote] I will say that as a singer, she was not able to wrap her mouth around the complex lyrics the way Bernadette Peters could, but it did not matter because she was so beautiful.

I was similarly more impressed with her looks than her singing in "Into The Woods." However, I prefer her recording of "The Last Midnight" to Bernadette Peters'.

R52 That was quite the to-do back then. I remember being at dinner with some people, one of whom had just seen the pictures. We eagerly asked for details – were they really all that bad? I can still hear him saying, "OHHH yeah. She was gettin' licked."

That said, she is very beautiful and talented, and I salute her for building a great career. That sort of scandal could really end you in those days. And yet she persisted!

I was very young (grade school) during the Miss America scandal, and even at that age I wondered what the big deal was. Not too long after that, nude photos Madonna had taken years before surfaced and that was another big scandal. Madonna shrugged it off, said "who cares?" and it only made her more famous.

I think she has a nice voice. Her jazzy Christmas albums are excellent and make great use of her voice.

Her ex husband was brilliant in engineering her comeback from the scandal. In reality, she only had like 2 weeks left of actual Miss America duties then got time off the was to come back to crown her successor. That’s why Suzette Charles was so pissed at the organization for years because she was led to believe she would be making all kinds of appearances when in reality everything had already been pre scheduled. Suzette was opening for Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls, Bill Cosby and Al Jarreau, which would’ve been much more beneficial for her in launching an entertainment career then being Miss America for a month and a half. Had she declined it the title would’ve gone to the 3rd runner up as the 2nd runner up was about to get married.

Her parents were educators and she’s lived in Westchester county for most of her life. Her book is great she wrote with her mom. The girl/girl photos were taken with a photographer she was working with as a stylist/makeup artist part time. She was told the pics would be in silhouette and you wouldn’t be able to see her. They were first offered to Playboy by an associate of the photographer but they declined as the person couldn’t produce a model release and they didn’t want to be known for taking down the first black miss America. The photographer produced a model release (which she says wasn’t her signature) and penthouse ran the photos.

R29 I really loved that movie.

Vanessa Williams has always been a class act. She handled that scandal with lots of grace.

You went and saved the best for last.

The person finding all the pictures, thanks. If you find charlize Therons" could you post them? Adding to my porn stash.

She’s NOT biracial R28. Both her parents are black and she’s said so many times.

She has white in her family history but she doesn’t identify as biracial.

Because she's Wilhelmina Slater and she doesn't get wet.

I thought it was the greatest Hollywood comeback from a scandal until Robert Downey, Jr..... But I wouldn't say it was a second chance. It was her notoriety that helped get her thru the door. Certain producers wanted to take a chance on her believing the scandal would spark curiosity. They were right. To her credit, she had the beauty and talent to back it up. Her manager did a brilliant job.

One more important thing: America loves to forgive. As long as the person shows remorse and it's handled properly. She proved herself to be a real class act. She also has a reputation of being wonderful to work with. A bad word has never been said about her.

Yeah, the talent stood out. She diversified herself - albums, films, TV, Broadway. And she had the right look. Just gorgeous.

I think she is a good singer but the fact that she was so photogenic helped her become a star in the video age.

[quote]why was she given a second chance when so many others were not?

Others like who? I can't think of many people from the 1960s onward who lost their entire careers because they were in a nudie photo. Lyle Waggoner lost his job on The Carol Burnett Show but he still had a decent career, and that years and years before Vanessa Williams's photos were released.

If I recall, no one really went after Lisa Bonet either, and that was about the same time.

I guess I'm not really understanding the whole premise of this. I feel like OP created a scenario that wasn't true ("everyone else lost their careers!") just to slam Vanessa Williams in some oblique way.

Ramon Hervey was her first husband and manager. He.locked in her record contract and was in charge of her image rehabilitacion.

Her talent took it from there.

I've always admired Vanessa Williams. She's the only reason I watched the remake of "Bye, Bye, Birdie" which was, if I recall correctly, not bad. I was not disappointed. She was excellent.

While now, interracial couples (Jason Alexander) casting is hardly noticed, I remember, that was part of my interest, too.

R74.. lyle waggoner didn't pose fully frontal nude flaccid or hard, and didn't pose very suggestively with another guy either. i believe he only showed "hint" of a bush in one photo for his playgirl spread... and we all know men run hollywood so even if he had it wouldn't have hurt him, as it didn't hurt burt reynolds either (except for him winning acting awards)..

Jim Brown showed full frontal. Williams' problem was that she simulated sex relatively explicitly, with a woman no less. Remember the backlash to Madonna's SEX book? Madonna posed in a similar way to Williams ("eating the booty like groceries" as some would say).

[quote] One more important thing: America loves to forgive. As long as the person shows remorse and it's handled properly.

The remarkable thing about Vanessa is that she never showed remorse or apologized.

Indeed, Miss America apologized to HER. Which is good.

R72 "America loves to forgive ". I think Williams is quite talented and didn't do anything wrong but I believe that Americans widely vaunted capacity for forgiveness is hugely exaggerated. I still see a lot of bile and anger directed at people for past mistakes. I think the truth is that Williams was forgiven, or not given too hard a time, because she is attractive. Americans will never be too rough with good looking people.

Williams portrait at the Miss America offices at the time was replaced by a portrait of Elizabeth ward who was Miss America 1982 and would pose for playboy almost a decade later and eventually cop to a one night stand with bill Clinton.

In her book Vanessa talks about how pebbles stole the song girlfriend from her. It was to be the first song from her debut album and produced by la Reid and babyface. Pebbles showed up to a recording session when Williams was recording the song and got la Reid to give her the song by giving him $$ a car and her pussy. Babyface tried to get the song back but was unsuccessful and Williams never spoke to Reid again.

I've never read a word about her being anything but professional, friendly, down to earth and a pleasure to work with.

Michael Urie said she told him to stand as close to her as possible during the early episodes of Ugly Betty in order to help him get more screen time.

And of course there was the main cast gift to the crew at the Desperate Housewives wrap — sets of luggage from the three original women and Vanessa (not Teri).

What did she do that she had to show remorse for, R79? She gave interviews about it afterwards and seemed honest. She didn't deny that she believed she'd acquired the negatives and couldn't be hurt by them.

[quote]Michael Urie said she told him to stand as close to her as possible during the early episodes of Ugly Betty in order to help him get more screen time.

It wasn't just that. Wilhelmina's assistant was supposed to be like Murphy Brown's secretary, so it would be a revolving door of guest stars. Vanessa liked Michael so much that she figured out a way to get the producers to keep him.

I have a really hard time imagining that there are many people in Hollywood who are that gracious.

That's not gracious. That's canny. She saw his potential as a foil.

Vanessa definitely knows that one only looks better if she makes others look good too, which explains why she is liked by both the Ugly Betty and the witches coven that was Desperate Housewives.

She knows the benefits of being part of an ensemble.

I was surprised she never played Deena in Dreamgirls. Or even Roxie or Velma in Chicago.

[Quote] Americans will never be too rough with good looking people.

Well...

[quote] In her book Vanessa talks about how pebbles stole the song girlfriend from her. It was to be the first song from her debut album and produced by la Reid and babyface. Pebbles showed up to a recording session when Williams was recording the song and got la Reid to give her the song by giving him $$ a car and her pussy. Babyface tried to get the song back but was unsuccessful and Williams never spoke to Reid again.

Perri (Pebbles) is, was and always will be a scheming cunt. She fucked TLC over big time.

It seems Vanessa and Rick Fox are still very close. They are appearing on the BET show Twenties.

I'd ride on Rick Fox for daaaays!

Did she make any comment when her old cast ate Flicka was arrested?

I remember she chipped in with 3/4 Housewives to buy gifts for the crew, which was a very classy thing to do as she likely earned a lot less than the "stars"

R74, Lyle left the Burnett show on his own, he was not fired. Carol was not pleased that he decided to leave.

Is she the most successful performer to have won the MA crown? I had hopes Kate Shindle would break through but she never really did, although I enjoyed her turn as a crazed lesbian on the Good Wife spin-off.

America "forgave" Vanessa because they finally realized she got a raw deal from that dirtball scumbag extraordinaire, Bob Guccione. So glad that nasty bitch died broke.

When she transformed from the witch in INTO THE WOODS, the audience gasped at how pretty she was. I was shocked too. I think Suzette Charles has a better voice and is just as pretty and enthnically ambiguous. I like them both.

WHERE IS suzette charles now?

i remember thinking shawn weatherly was GORGEOUS STUNNING and then she aged badly and married for money how many times married larry king.

[quote]R31 One photo had Vanessa kneeling in front of another woman, both nude, with Vanessa's extended tongue just touching the other woman's pubes.

Well, not exactly.

Shawn weatherly isn’t married to Larry king. Suzette Charles had a great voice but not the stage presence that Vanessa has. She married a doctor and reconnected with the organization a few years ago and was one of the former winners that spearheaded the ouster of the ceo Sam Haskell and later part of the group that tried to get rid of Gretchen Carlson.

I remember being disappointed that she returned her crown, thinking I’d be like, “Well, you can try to come and GET it, bitches!!!”

(But then, she’s probably classier than I am.)

Because by that time everybody knew what a meaningless crock of shit beauty pageants were.

On stage how do they manage to change the witch from ugly to stunning live on stage?

[quote]Is she the most successful performer to have won the MA crown? I had hopes Kate Shindle would break through but she never really did, although I enjoyed her turn as a crazed lesbian on the Good Wife spin-off.

I saw Kate Shindle in "Fun Home" — she was excellent in both the musical and dramatic parts.

Vanessa Williams is a bad ass. What happened to whichever bland bitch they replaced her with?

Suzette from a few years ago she still looks great and has the New Jersey accent.

Vanessa actually got to keep her crown , schloppy the Atlantic City trophy company that made them had to make a new crown for the 1985 winner.

I agree Suzette looks great. I liked her in that pageant and remember feeling like either she or Vanessa would be a great choice.

Vanessa is the best part of Ugly Betty. Which is saying a lot since Michael Urie, Becki Newton, Ana Ortiz and Judith Light are phenomenal in it as well.

U.m. Gee. Thanks, R108

Because we weren’t insufferable cancel cunts back then.

And as already stated, Vanesa Williams was drop dead gorgeous and very talented.

As noted earlier, her ex-husband was brilliant in rehabilitating her image. Of course, she's very talented too. It wasn't easy for her comeback. It was a very different time and there are interviews where Williams speaks of that period and the difficulties that she had getting booked, etc.

I recall that photo spread (I've heard that that issue of Penthouse would sell for over $1000, if it's in good condition) and I thought the pictures were all artfully done which is unlike the gal's nudies (who now lives at 1600 Pennsylvania) and how they look as if they were shot by a third rate photographer.

But, enough credit isn't given to Bob Guccione (CEO of Penthouse) because those pictures went on the market as soon as Williams was crowned. Hugh Hefner wouldn't touch them. However, Guccione bought them and held them until (I believe) two months before she was to have ended her reign as Miss America. I guess he realized the importance of the moment with her being the first Black Miss America. Williams served quite well during her time as Miss America too. But, Guccione did have to make his money back. Anyway, he gets some props for holding those pictures for as long as he did.

I don't think the pics are all that great.

She had a big ol' bush!

Well, I never!

My God, was she ever an idiot for having those pictures taken. What the hell was she thinking, that the photos were "art?" In one of them a woman has her nose in her asshole, in another one the same woman has her mouth in her crotch. And in yet another one she's got her legs spread so you can clearly see her hairy crotch and floppy lips. I think the photographer who took them said that she was "hardcore" and "liked to get down." Well, I guess she was! And she ran for Miss America after doing this? Did she think the pictures would never come to light? Was she that stupid? At any rate, after she abdicated her Miss America throne she was free to pursue other aspects of a career. I think people thought she was unsuitable as Miss America (she was) but could be tolerated as a celebrity.

By the way, she has a VERY ugly vagina.

R115=frau.

Post a pretty vagina, r115.

R116 = fucktard

R118=shitstain on the panties of life.

"Post a pretty vagina."

Ever watched any porn? There are plenty of prettier vaginas out there, much more attractive than Vanessa Williams' grungy looking bearded clam.

R119 = fucktard with his befouled pink panties in a bunch.

R121=licked gayle grinds shit covered walls

R122 = loony fucktard with a bug up his dingle-berry encrusted bunghole

[quote]I think the truth is that Williams was forgiven, or not given too hard a time, because she is attractive. Americans will never be too rough with good looking people.

I don't know about that. It could not have been one of the better periods of her life. She had the Black community that was outraged because as the first Black Miss America she wasn't no where near BLACK enough to satisfy them. Then, she had many in the White community who thought that she was too Black. The girl was always receiving death threats during that period.

Her talent saved her. She was able to make a name for herself from the jobs that she was able to get, and according to her, the phone was not ringing off of the hook. But, look at her now! A lot of people don't even remember her being a Miss America title holder.

R123=rimmed Bill Cosby after he ate chili and starred in Ernas scat movies.

You have to remember that the Miss America Pageant was still a big deal back then. It was broadcast on one of the Big Three networks and got millions of viewers. The girl who got crowned Miss America was front page news the next day.

It's all so quaint now. Beauty pageants are such a relic, even though they're still around. Nobody's given a shit about Miss America in many years.

R115 I agree. I never fell for the naive young woman excuse. If someone asked me to pose for pictures like that, I would have ran out the door and thought they were a pervert. Those photographs are not “art” in any way, just nasty.

r115 = Veronica Cartwright in The Witches of Eastwick.

[quote]I think the photographer who took them said that she was "hardcore" and "liked to get down." Well, I guess she was!

MARY!

I thought she worked as a receptionist or something for the photographer who did the original b+w series.

There were two layouts in two different issues of Penthouse. After the first issue ran, more photos surfaced (or were FAKED!)

The second set are the pics in leather, and some color shots.

I thought she dated the photographer

She had some red wine. Trusted the guy and wanted to rebel. She talks about it in her book. I never got the impression she was playing naive. Maybe back then to save face with the organization. Who cares. All your little twisted celebrities lie though when they get caught. It's the art of acting. It's all they know.

[Quote] I thought she dated the photographer

He certainly fucked her in one sense.

She said the photographer told her the photos would be in silhouette so her face wouldn't be shown. If that's actually true, I can't believe she fell for that.

"She said the photographer told her the photos would be in silhouette so her face wouldn't be shown. If that's actually true, I can't believe she fell for that."

HAHAHA! Yeah, I'm sure that's why she did lesbian porn photos, because she thought "her face wouldn't be shown." What utter horseshit. I think she did them because she wanted the experience of an erotic photo session with another woman. In ALL the photos, she looks like she's having a really good time doing the lesbo thang with the lissome blonde.

I've met her. Really nice.

When Madonna said, "So what. I'm not ashamed" about her nude photos leaking that was the tipping point for those sleazebags to blackmail or sell nude photos of celebs before they became famous. I think Vanessa has credited Madonna with destroying that industry.

Idiot @ r115 You've spent too much time looking at staged hetero porn with plastic dolls who got into the industry to pay for their plastic surgery in hopes to make it big as a movie star in Hollywood.

Vanessa Williams has a very normal looking vagina and breasts.

"Vanessa Williams has a very normal looking vagina and breasts."

"Normal" doesn't necessarily constitute attractive, asshole. And in Vanessa Williams' case her tits were floppy not firm (one of them looks bigger than the other) and her gnarly vagina lips look like two pieces of mangled bacon. She really should have thought twice before baring those floppy titties and that unsightly hair pie.

She was very well-liked on Desperate Housewives and you know how those bitches were...

She was very well-liked on Desperate Housewives and you know how those bitches were...

R135 Exactly. No way would a truly straight woman take pictures like that. And as for the red wine excuse...🙄. Please.

R135/138 chewed Harvey Weinsteins back blackheads because it reminded him of chewing the bedsore on his grandmas ass.

Don't forget "A Diva's Christmas Carol" with Kathy Griffin.

R142, you're not funny or clever, you're just pathetic. You're a retard. Everybody knows that. Why keeps reiterating it?

R144 stop taking out your frustration on being a partial birth abortion on others. No one can help it if your mother couldn’t get the wire hanger in far enough.

R145, I'm very sorry that your only sexual experience consists of being cornholed by your Daddy ages 6 through 17 (he eventually got tired of you). Your mental retardation no doubts stems from that, that and the fact that your mother liked to get her pussy pounded by HER Daddy, resulting in you, her little retarded incest baby. Such a terrible family history. You're a retarded asshole, but I pity you.

She is an Emmy, Tony & Grammy nominee - and she lost all three.

If she ever gets nominated and loses an Oscar she will join Lynn Redgrave as the biggest EGOT Loser in history

R146 stop projecting your issues on others. Please don’t forget to go down to police department and complete your sex offender registry, it’s a felony if you don’t. BTW sorry you were pimped out for donkey shows.

Look Stefonknee you will never be a six year old girl time to accept it.

[quote]She had the Black community that was outraged because as the first Black Miss America she wasn't no where near BLACK enough to satisfy them.

BOY! I remember how Essence magazine RIPPED her apart when she was crowned!

I grew up in a very racists family where my "charming" dad would call people of colour (including our household staff) monkey. Imagine growing up gay in such a household and having an endless secret crush on Vanessa Williams.

Her brother is gay, right?

^ I don't know about her brother, but her looks like family. He is 27 and a FIDM grad, and he gives off gay vibes. Cute, though not handsome.

I've seen the pictures and she'snot eating out a woman so fuck you.

She is posing with another nude woman and yes her face is vis a vis the other woman's crotch but it's a pose. There's distance, and nothing is happening.

All the pictures were "erotic". None even come close to Madonna's "Sex" book, which today looks tame. Vanessa isn't doing anything in any of the photos. It's all poses.

r152 This brother? He's 52. How could she have a brother who's 30 years younger?

Sorry, I meant her son, Devin.

Her son Devin also look gay. Her 2 oldest daughters are fugs. The youngest daughter is obese. Seems like Rick Fox is a carrier of the fat gene because his son is also a fatty.

I love her pussy. It looks very inviting and a pussy that can handle a proper fuck.

I wonder if she was ever with a woman; just something about those pictures gives me a feeling. I don't mean the molestation incident, that's grotesque, I mean as an adult.

The father of her three oldest kids (her first husband) is fug, so unfortunately the kids got some of his genes.

No r158, Vanessa is dick crazy, no women for her.

Thanks r160. I just clicked on a picture of hers online and it links to "tea" about her on Lipstick Alley; not going to go check it out then. No point if she's strictly dickly.

r152 Devin has been dating the same chick for over 5 years. So I assume, not gay. He is ugly tho just like his other siblings.

Because she saved the best for last.

I would let Rick Fox put his genes in me.

Still to this day the media loves nothing more than to build someone up, tear him or her down, and then cover the well deserved comeback. It sells magazines, newspapers, gets you ratings and clicks.

I think Vanessa turned what could have been a total career killer into a success story. She let the scandal play out, slowly came back with two pop hits and then went into acting. I have always been impressed by her tenacity and look forward to watching what she does next.

I really like Vanessa. I admire that she turned a bad experience into a success story. And she is still absolutely stunning.

I did not know about the nude photos and was going to say who cares, but those antiquated beauty pageants seem to. But don't get me started on them...

Wasn't this song Girlfriend written for her to record?

Didn't that cunt Pebbles steal it?

Isn't that what happened.

Sorry Pebbly poo....

VW doesn't need your shity little song to be a star!

Bob Guccione died bankrupt and in pain. Served him right.

She’s someone who apparently has a great reputation behind the scenes. She’s a team player and sticks her neck out for people she thinks are talented and deserve a shot.

R166, she lost everything when the photos came out and it took her a long time to get anything. She auditioned for My One and Only and despite doing a great audition, one of the Gershwin's allegedly said that she would never have "that whore:" on stage. People liked her and her look as well as her story so she kept getting small breaks and the audiences accepted her.

I like her. She seems like a good person. Her singing, music and acting, not so much.

She’s not so great singing live. She’s a bit on the pitchy side. I noticed this when she was a singing guest on the talk show circuit promoting her albums. But my goodness, what a beautiful woman she is! She’s still a better singer than JLo or Janet.

I felt bad for her, earlier this week. Her clothing line was on sale on HSN; because of social distancing, she skyped in, they couldn't have models, so the stuff was just on hangers. Additionally, at nearly 15% unemployment, most people aren't looking for clothes. I hope she can wait till things improve and try again.

Yeah “girlfriend” was going to be on Williams first album. Pebbles showed up to the recording session, and offered LA Reid cash, a car and her pussy if she gave her the track. Babyface tried to get the track back but wasn’t able to.

R175 I want to see that TV movie!

R174 I love Vanessa Williams, but those clothes she's Hawking are hideous!!

OP, STfu u cracka ass bitch.

R174, I was being discreetly kind. I was particularly horrified at those jumpsuits...Why? And those colors to boot! Heavens to Betsy; looked like a first year design students attempt at glam wear.

r174 I don't feel sorry for her. Those clothes are ugly. I doubt homeless people would want to wear them. Also, she doesn't need the money.

“ why was she given a second chance?”

She wasn’t. She made her own way.

Everybody loves a comeback story...and she did it brilliantly.

Get off her case. Vanessa has a beautiful and emotive voice. She's a talented Broadway actress. Vanessa is friendly and kind. Plus she's really good at comedy. Leave Vanessa alone and let her sing.

She's probably the greatest Miss America ever... probably both the most talented and the most beautiful.

She’s going for the middle age flyover frau group r174.

Vanessa and the other Vanessa Williams have known about each other since high school when they both got into NYU at the same time. The other Vanessa got a check that Williams got for being in the Macy’s parade as miss America and returned it to her.

Vanessa and her mother went to see a play with the other Vanessa and on the playbill in her bio she wrote “I’m the REAL broadway actress” or something like that and it pissed her off.

BTW every state pageant and the national Miss America pageant has been cancelled this year and is tentatively scheduled at the end of 2021. The pageant has no sponsors, no network and is bleeding money and may not survive.

So she may very well outlast the Miss America pageant.

Allegedly she just re-recorded a dance version of one of her prior hits. Does anyone know about this, or what song it is?

Instead of re-recording old shit, she needs to record an album of new pop/dance/R&B like her first two albums.

On the off chance that it hasn't been referenced yet.

r189, I was a huge fan of "In Living Color" but never saw that. Hysterical! Thank you.

Fuck the family! I let the family in my house and the family fucked my husband!

Her remix of THE WAY THAT YOU LOVE ME was a favorite of mine back in the day.

R192 Huh?

R193...

r44, I almost did something like that when I was in college, 20 or 21. I guy I knew said he wanted some nudes for his portfolio. We had worked together at some shit job so it wasn't like he was a friend. I was okay with doing something artful, and not with another person. He offered me $600 I believe and I got half up from just showing him my body. Then as we approached the date to schedule this shoot he told me about what he had in mind. I said I'm not doing anything with someone else or sitting spread eagle. He said no I would be by myself but maybe I would touch myself, then it got to inserting things inside me, and I said. Fuck no, I'm not doing this, it sounds like porn not art. He asked for his advance back and I told him okay, okay. I'm getting it together. Then the semester ended, I moved out the dorm, and the number was disconnected. (Im genX so not everyone had a cell phone number yet)

I had another near miss with porn also but I don't want to tell that story, but this was the crazy 90s and I wasn't the sharpest tack in the draw.

Her adult choices I understand. The choices her younger self made never computed with her upbringing. College educated parents, church going, conservative, then a daughter pregnant and having an abortion in high school, then naked with her whooha out, exposed to God and country...I'm a few years younger than Vanessa, and I could see pregnant and having an abortion in college...not high school. That's a fast girl, as my mother would say.

She was sexually abused by a female friend of the family when she was 10 years old. Also you can’t be naive enough to believe that high school girls getting abortions wasn’t uncommon. Most of the girls I knew in high school who got abortions came from “good families” with $$$.

She should have named and shamed the female “family friend” because that sicko could still be hurting kids.

[quote] I wasn't the sharpest tack in the draw.

Apparently you're still not.

We don’t know what other beauty pageant contestants have done in their lives. Vanessa made a mistake. That’s all.

r196 She had an abortion? Wow... I thought she was a strict catholic.

[quote][R196] She had an abortion? Wow... I thought she was a strict catholic.

So, are many of the other girls.

You do know that many of the girls who make the decision to abort hail from heavily religious backgrounds and who consider themselves very religious?

r202 You are right. I was just surprised. I have a female doctor friend who earns a fortune by surgically reconstructing hymens on Muslims girls. My doctor friend who is from Iran says the more religious the girls appear to be, the nastier they are.

^Now, isn't that interesting! I had no idea that such a procedure even existed. Off to Google I go!

HA!!!

The little minxes!

I knew several girls in college who had abortions, and they came from Catholic families. They never told their parents.

R206, exactly. College, not high school. Her family structure of two educator parents, lots of church, singing and music lessons, would not lead one to think, pregnant in high school. College, when you're no longer under the watchful eye of your parents, yes.

Reading how other celebrity kids are fucked up. It seems Vanessa did a good job with raising her kids. Her kids might not be good looking but they seem like mentally healthy people.

They look fine, just not dazzling looking like Vanessa.

Is she still married to Jim?

^^ she was on a talk show last week; from her home of course. She said he was at work; so yeah, they're still happily married.

How many times has she been married?

This is her third and his second. I think this is going to stick. I remember she said years ago, she didn't want to be twice divorced, but Fox wanted a divorce. Based on that, I feel she's going to make this one last, come hell or high water. This one was a Catholic church wedding; I don't know if that's relevant, but to me, it says, we are not divorcing, ever.

The others were Catholic weddings too.

Abortion and divorce!

The perfect Vanessa Williams thread!!

She's breathtaking...and her daughters look fine. What does her son look like? And her brother, Christopher, is an actor or something. He pings in interviews.

r216 see r154.

She was raped by a lesbian when she was 10 years old. She could have grown up hating the LGBT community. But instead she embraced the community and is a HUGE supporter. Her brother Chris must be gay.

Her son, Devin. None of her kids grew up stunning.

[quote]The others were Catholic weddings too

What a joke.

I was listening Save the best for last a minute ago.

It's not like they gift her a career. They make her pay for a stupid mistake (the relationship of America with nudes is ridiculous) but she was talented. Her first songs weren't successful till Dreamin, and her music career was uneven, but she had a bunch of big hits.

She is really beautiful and for once that was far from being her best quality

Devin was a cute baby boy that grew up to be a handsome man...but the grooming...ugh. I hate to see black men dye their hair like that and mohawks suck.

She’s one of the few artists who has gone to number one in the hot 100, r&b, dance and adult contemporary charts.

The Miss America pageant announced that this years pageant is cancelled and won’t be held until December 2021. They blame covid 19, but in reality the pageant has no sponsors and no tv contract and a few former titleholders are saying privately that the pageant is dead.

She hasn’t had a hit since the 90’s. She needs to work with some current pop/dance producers.

The 1993 Grammys, singing live. She's about 15 months pregnant, sitting on a stool the whole time, and just kills it while looking beautiful (and wearing an AIDS ribbon).

r224 She is too old! She should stick to tv series.

R226 Excuse me bitch?! What do you mean too old???

I wouldn't kick her out of bed, that's for sure.

She was very famous as Miss America because of breaking the color barrier. Most would come and go without anyone noticing but she was everywhere during her year as the winner. (which only made the scandal bigger.)

This podcast just came out in March 2020. it is great, thorough look into the scandal and the politics involved with Vanessa‘s scandal and its aftermath.

Miss America 1944 Venus Ramey called her a slut when interviewed by a local newspaper right after the scandal happened. Turns out she turned into a nasty, cuntish old cat lady. And to me, she's one of the least attractive Miss Americas ever.

r228 I love her, always have. Had a huge crush on her back in the 90's. But now I think she looks too much like an aunty.

^^^ I'm 52, so that's okay.

She's plumping up a bit. That's fine. She is still lovely.

She was astonishingly beautiful for about 3 seconds.

LOL! She sells ugly Frau clothes.

She keeps getting married though...it’s like she is not used to being alone.

R237, she was single from August 2004, till she married her current husband in 2015... that's a long single stretch.

Why get married at all? Are there any legal benefits being married?

^Yes

The fuck, r28? Halle Berry gave one of the greatest acting performances of all time in Monsters Ball.

Vanessa posted this on her social media. The first 5 black miss America’s won their titles 27-37 years ago and they all look great.

That performance from the 4th of July...

Vanessa please stop with the show tunes.

You've become a modern-day Kate Smith!

And leave "Somewhere" to Streisand

I go back as far as Williams and I knew she would be Miss America, and I rooted for her. IMO the most beautiful Miss America ever, and had a killer talent moment singing a slow motion version of "Happy Days are Here Again." I was so pissed off when the crown was taken. She was 18 or whatever it was when the pictures were shot, and the photog decided to sell to Penthouse - fuck them. I refused to look at them at the time - I'm not into gotcha stuff. Years later I saw them and you see more in a music video - yes they were naked but it was very artsy.

Didn't pay attention much afterwards but I noticed I just liked her in everything she showed up in. Yes, gorgeous, perfect figure, strong intelligence conveyed through her speaking voice - but even though she played a lot of hard asses she was a fave. In the horrible Music Man remake with Matthew Broderick. In Desperate Housewives. And most of all in Ugly Betty. She just had that thing where you can buy into her and like her no matter who she is playing. I think because she never tries to be liked. She just comes in like, "Here's the deal" without games and you trust her.

[quote]In the horrible Music Man remake with Matthew Broderick.

Wow. You can't tell the difference between Vanessa Williams and Kristin Chenoweth?

Nope, sorry, wrong musical. Williams played Rose Alvarez in the television musical adaptation of Bye Bye Byrdie (Yes I know she didn't play Marion opposite Matthew Broderick). It starred Jason Alexander. I just remember a big musical number of hers where - and I may be losing my mind - she was upside down at a table at one point and we could just see her feet moving along. She was just good.

Obviously neither musical was all that great or I wouldn't conflate them. But I remember her.

R243 I agree. Vanessa used to make good pop/R&B dance music with her first two albums. After that she kept doing more and more boring shit and now I don't even listen to her anymore.

Is Vanessa still married to her third husband? Because I don’t think Vanessa has mentioned him or posted any pictures of him on her social media in over a year.😳

She remains the most beautiful of all the Miss Americas, and of course the most gifted pop singer (Dorothy Benham had the most beautiful voice overall, though).

Vanessa William indeed WAS in The Music Man, playing the important role of Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn.

R115= Stormed the Capital Bitch