Cheryl Burke, Thomas Roberts Step Down as ‘Miss USA Pageant’ Co-Hosts After Donald Trump Statements

Cheryl Burke and Thomas Roberts have stepped down as co-hosts of the Miss USA Pageant after the recent derogatory statements made by the pageant’s corporate co-owner, Donald Trump. The former Da...
Cheryl Burke, Thomas Roberts Step Down as ‘Miss USA Pageant’ Co-Hosts After Donald Trump Statements
Written by Kimberly Ripley
  • Cheryl Burke and Thomas Roberts have stepped down as co-hosts of the Miss USA Pageant after the recent derogatory statements made by the pageant’s corporate co-owner, Donald Trump.

    The former Dancing With the Stars pro took to social media to announce that the pageant would go on, but without her. Thomas Roberts later withdrew from the pageant as well.

    “In light of recent statements made by Donald Trump and the subsequent decision by NBC to cut ties with Mr. Trump, I cannot in good conscience move forward with participating in this year’s Miss USA Pageant as its co-host,” Cheryl Burke wrote in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday.

    “Effective today I have withdrawn from my duties with Miss USA,” she continued. “Although I will not be there in person, I wish all of the contestants much luck as I know how hard they’ve all been working over the last year to try and realize their dreams.”

    MISS USAIn light of the recent statements made by Donald Trump and the subsequent decision by NBC to cut ties with Mr….

    Posted by Cheryl Burke on Tuesday, June 30, 2015

    Cheryl Burke stepping down as co-host is just the latest in a string of blows the dealt to the Miss USA Pageant. Univision dropped their broadcast of the pageant. Roselyn Sanchez and Cristian de la Fuente stepped down as co-hosts of the Spanish simulcast. NBCUniversal joined in on Monday when they announced they were ending their relationship with Donald Trump.

    “To that end, the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants, which are part of a joint venture between NBC and Trump, will no longer air on NBC,” the network said in a statement to Us Weekly, noting that “respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones” of its values. “In addition, as Mr. Trump has already indicated, he will not be participating in The Apprentice on NBC. Celebrity Apprentice is licensed from Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group and that relationship will continue.”

    Donald Trump ignited all of this backlash with statements he made about people crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

    “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he said at the time. “And some, I assume, are good people.”

    Cheryl Burke, Thomas Roberts, and others in their positions are no doubt saving their own reputations by separating themselves from anything related to Donald Trump.

    Are you pleased to see people and companies including NBCUniversal, Univision, and Cheryl Burke cutting their ties from Donald Trump in light of the insensitive comments he made?

    Might this spell the end of the Miss USA Pageant or will someone else pick up the pieces and salvage the show?

    Get the WebProNews newsletter delivered to your inbox

    Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

    Subscribe
    Advertise with Us

    Ready to get started?

    Get our media kit