Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado says she has no fond memories of pageant owner Donald Trump, whom she says called her "Miss Piggy" because of her weight gain and "Miss Houskeeping" because of her Latina background.
Machado, a native of Venezuela, is now a U.S. citizen, and has pledged her support for president to Democrat Hillary Clinton. Clinton mentioned Machado and her history with Trump, the GOP nominee, at Monday's debate.
Now an actress and mother at age 39, Machado made media appearances on CNN and Fox News on Tuesday night, saying she is a major Latina voice for Clinton, and against Trump, who has called for tighter reins on illegal immigration.
Machado told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" the Trump campaign's denials of the name-calling is untrue, even though she has no witnesses. Still, Trump did notably talk about the issue with radio host Howard Stern in 1997, and he carried a group of reporters to the gym to watch Machado work out.
"He was really aggressive. He was really rude," Machado told Cooper. "He was a bad person with me. And that is the story that I need to share."
Cooper asked if Trump used the terms "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping" to her face.
"Yes, all the time!" she said.
In an appearance on Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File," Machado told host Megyn Kelly, "I know this person and he's not a good person.... If you gain weight, if you don't look the most beautiful girl in the world, you have your mind, your have your heart, you are strong, you are intelligent. And in the future that ladies can be a president, too. Why not?"
Cooper noted Trump surrogates have been pointing to reports Machado was accused of driving a getaway car from a murder scene.
Machado says she doesn't care what Trump says about her past.
"Everybody has a past. And I'm not a saint girl," she said. "That moment in Venezuela was wrong, was another speculation about my life, because I'm a really famous person in my country, because I'm an actress there."
Mediaite noted, while CNN appears to frown on Trump's treatment of Machado at the time, a story still posted on its website from the time took the chance to make several weight-related jokes – including the headline: "Expanding Miss Universe works to shed pounds."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.