Miss Oklahoma crowned Miss USA

Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La.

Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma was crowned Miss USA on Sunday, beating out 50 other contestants and overcoming weeks of controversy generated by pageant co-owner Donald Trump to win the 64th annual pageant.

The 26-year-old winner was followed by first runner-up Yliana Guerra, 22, of Texas, and second runnerup Anea Garcia, 20, of Rhode Island. They were followed by 25-year-old Miss Nevada Brittany McGown, 25, third runner-up and then Miss Maryland Mame Adjei, 23, to round out the top five.

Trump, the pageant co-owner and real estate mogul, slammed Mexican immigrants in comments during his announcement that he was running for president. That led to widespread fallout against his business dealings, including the pageant. He wasn't present Sunday.

Broadcasters, including NBC and Univision, dropped the pageant and a slew of celebrities lined up to perform, judge and host dropped out just as the pageant was kicking into high gear in Baton Rouge.

Pageant organizers rushed to fill the gap so the show could go on. Satellite and cable channel Reelz television stepped in to air the show, while assuring people that Trump would not benefit financially. And former Miss USA and Miss Universe winners were recruited as judges.

The pageant featured an evening wear and swimsuit competition as well as a personality interview. The preliminary contest was held earlier this week and then the number of women remaining was progressively narrowed during the course of Sunday evening's telecast.