HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Rima Fakih is defending her involvement in a 2007 stripping contest, the photos of which surfaced the day after she won the 59th annual Miss USA pageant.
"I was just being silly and jumping up and there were a few pictures exchanged," the 24-year-old Lebanese immigrant tells People. "I know it looks really negative but it's not really what you've seen. I didn't do anything wrong."
Fakih won the "Stripper 101" contest thrown by the Detroit-based "Mojo in the Morning" radio show, but she didn't remove any of her clothes in doing so. She says the event actually has to do with "female fitness and increasing female confidence in the form of dance."
"At the very end, we had all the women jump on stage and show what they've learned," she says. "Of course, the pictures won't show that. It was something where we were having fun."
Fakih became only the second Arab-American to win the Miss USA title when she bested 50 other women at last Sunday's ceremony in Las Vegas.
The University of Michigan graduate plans to attend law school after her Miss USA reign ends next year.
Photo credit: 2010 Miss Universe
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