Carrie Prejean stripped of Miss California title

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Miss California Carrie Prejean, left, signs autographs after the Dove awards in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, April 23, 2009. The Dove awards honor Christian and gospel music. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)  ( / AP)

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Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, reacts as Donald Trump, left, speaks during a news conference in New York, Tuesday May 12, 2009. Trump, who owns the Miss USA pageant, says Prejean can retain her Miss California USA crown after she caused a stir expressing opposition to gay marriage and posing in racy photographs. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)  ( / AP)

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In this photo taken on Sept. 14, 2008, Miss California Carrie Prejean is shown standing next to Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, rear with white cap, at the Browns versus the Steelers game at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Scott Heckel, The Repository)   ( / AP)

Miss California USA Carrie Prejean has been stripped of her title for failing to fulfill her contract commitments, pageant officials said Wednesday.

Pageant owner Donald Trump issued a statement that said he fired the controversial runner-up to the Miss USA contest not for her beliefs on gay marriage but for her failure to make required appearances and for unauthorized attendance at other events.

“I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA Organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so,” Trump said in a statement. “Unfortunately it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen.”

“This was a decision based solely on contract violations including Ms. Prejean’s unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization,” said state pageant executive director Keith Lewis.

Prejean, 22, vaulted into the spotlight April 19 when, during the pageant, she answered a question posed to her by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton about whether she thought that gay marriage should be legalized.

Some say her answer – that she believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman – lost her the Miss USA crown.

Prejean, a graduate of Vista High School and a student at San Diego Christian College, was named first runner-up to Miss North Carolina.

After the pageant, several revealing pictures of Prejean appeared on the Internet. Trump said in May that he reviewed the photos and her pageant agreement and that he found she had not violated her contract.

“After our press conference in New York we had hoped we would be able to forge a better working relationship,” Lewis said. “However, since that time it has become abundantly clear that Carrie is unwilling to fulfill her obligations under our contract and work together.”

Prejean has made appearances at churches and has also been featured in a television ad for the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes gay marriage.

Prejean has not commented yet on her dismissal. In May, she said she was not going to continue to speak out against gay marriage and would resume her duties as Miss California while staying true to her own beliefs and opinions.

“Carrie is a beautiful young woman and I wish her well as she pursues her other interests,” Trump said.

Tami Farrell, the first runner-up and Miss Malibu, will take over the responsibilities of Miss California.