Carrie Prejean Cries Foul over Treatment

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/12/2009 at 08:40 AM EDT

Carrie Prejean says she was never informed of appearances she was supposed to make in her official capacity as Miss California USA, and, as a result, she should not have been fired for not making them, the ousted beauty queen told Matt Lauer on Friday's Today show. "It is a set-up" is how she described her dismissal.

Appearing visibly miffed but well-prepared in what she had to say, Prejean, who was stripped of her title Wednesday, insisted that she did not violate her contract with the pageant organization and, in fact, had to place calls herself offering to appear at hospitals and the Special Olympics, because the organization hadn't booked a schedule for her.

"Did [Miss USA executive director Keith Lewis] give you specific appearances I have missed?" Prejean, 22, asked Lauer, who replied that Lewis had not.

The only reason she was fired, Prejean stated, was because of her opposing stance on same-sex marriage. "I think most Americans know that's the reason I'm here today," she said. As for why Donald Trump had given her the boot after previously supporting her – even after provocative photos of her had surfaced once she'd been crowned – she opined, "He has a business to run. I think he's tired of being in the middle."

Prejean also confirmed that she had declined offers from NBC, to appear on I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, and from Playboy magazine, to pose nude for $120,000.

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