Vanessa Williams says she felt ‘pressure, shame, judgment’ after Miss America nude photo scandal
“Had there been an internet to break back then, it would have shattered to pieces," Williams says.
Vanessa Williams is opening up about her past, present, and future in a new interview with People.
The actress reflected on her 1984 Miss America win and 10-month reign, which was cut short when nude photos she had taken years before were leaked to the press. Williams, who was the first Black woman to win the pageant, was only 21 when she found out the photos were sold and would be published in Penthouse magazine, according to People.
The scandal dominated the news cycle for weeks and hurt Williams’ image and career at the time.
“There was a tremendous amount of onus, pressure, shame, judgment,” she says about the scandal. “Had there been an internet to break back then, it would have shattered to pieces. I took all that on as a 21-year-old. It was global. You can fail quietly, but that was a worldwide fail.”
Williams was only 19 and working as a receptionist at a New York modeling agency when she took the photos in 1982, People reported. She was told at the time she’d “appear only in silhouette.”
Williams says that she looks back on her “19-to 20-year-old self” and thinks, “Oh my God you were so naive, so trusting, so vulnerable.”
“In your mind you think, ‘I’m old, I know what I’m doing.’ I give myself grace now, but as a young adult, I beat myself up, like ‘I should have known better,’” Williams shares.
The actress says her family helped her get through the experience and she now talks to her four adult children about that time.
“They’re all older than I was now, but the fact that I became famous at 20 years old relative to their lives and having death threats and having to go through breaking a huge hurdle and what the repercussions of that was,” she says. “[They’re like] ‘Wow, how did you handle all this mom at 20?’ Then I look back at my 20-year-old self and say, ‘My God, I was a baby.’”
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Now 61, Williams has built a legendary career in Hollywood, for which she is grateful. The actress has starred in hit shows and films like “Ugly Betty,” “Soul Food,” and “Desperate Housewives.” Next up, she will appear as Miranda Priestly in London’s upcoming musical adaptation of the 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada.”
“I’m still here and I’m still standing. I’m still feeling strong,” Williams says. “To create a role in a new musical has been one of my dreams.”
Williams also revealed that she is newly divorced, planning to release her first album in 15 years, working on a new reality show, and developing a new documentary about her life.
“I’m doing what I love, and I’m in love with life,” she adds.
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