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Miss Delaware Teen USA, Come on Down: We're Crowning the Top Beauty-Pageant Scandals!

by Alexis L. Loinaz Thu., Feb. 28, 2013 11:25 AM PST

Melissa King, Jenna Talackova, Vanessa Williams, Sheena Monnin

Twitter; Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images; Greg Harbaugh/Miss Universe Organization; AP Photo/Jack Kanthal

Miss Teen USA? More like Miss Scandal!

Forget crowns, titles and prizes: These days, the only thing that beauty-pageant hopefuls seem to be winning is notoriety—lots of it. Earlier this week, Melissa King resigned as Miss Delaware Teen USA after a sex tape surfaced allegedly starring the dark-haired beauty.

The 18-year-old has staunchly denied that she's the woman in the pornlike video, which shows a brunette sitting on a bed while talking about her sexual predilections before engaging in all-out sexual acts with a male partner.

Miss Delaware Teen USA Melissa King: 5 things to know about the scandal-plagued beauty queen

Still, the damage has been done, and now the first runner-up to Miss Delaware Teen USA will be taking over the crown.

At least King can console herself with this thought: She's hardly alone.

From Miss USA to Miss America, the pageant world has been littered with scandals, be it dethroned Miss America Vanessa Williams' racy spread in Penthouse, former Miss USA Rima Fakih's DUI bust or transgender Miss Canada contestant Jenna Talackova's trailblazing bid for beauty and equality.

Check out the best and baddest beauty-pageant scandals!