Priceless Memories - Bob Barker [72]
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Despite my growing enlightenment, I had really never encountered a conflict with my personal beliefs during my hosting duties. By 1987, I had been doing the beauty pageants for twenty years, and I always looked forward to doing them. They had become a very pleasant part of my life—and of my income. I didn’t know it then, but my passion for animal protection was on a collision course with one of my favorite events, and something was going to have to give.
The dramatic confrontation occurred in 1987, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, site of the Miss USA beauty pageant. The pageant producers had awarded fur coats as prizes for years. Fur coats were standard fare at all of the pageants. After working on them for a couple of years, however, I was able to persuade the producers of the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants to cease and desist. In 1987, I went to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to host the Miss USA pageant, knowing that a fur coat would be presented to the winner, but I also knew that fur coats would be a thing of the past, as of 1988. I arrived in Albuquerque on Friday the thirteenth. The show was going to be broadcast on Tuesday the seventeenth.
On the first day, I was appalled to learn that in the swimsuit competition, the semifinalist contestants would be coming onto the stage wearing fur coats over their swimsuits. The swimsuit competition was to be on a winter wonderland type of set that resembled a northern New Mexico ski lodge. The women were going to stroll on the stage, wearing the fur coats, and then drop them and model in their swimsuits for the judges.
I didn’t want to engage in a conversation right there on the spot on the rehearsal stage with a crowd of people watching, but I was immediately troubled. That night in my hotel room, I spoke on the phone with my close friend and animal activist associate Nancy Burnet. We both agreed I couldn’t do the show if real furs were going to be worn and displayed by the contestants.
The pageant had put me in a position that would be untenable after speaking at various locations around the country urging people not to wear furs. It would have been hypocritical of me to appear if the furs were used, and it would have destroyed my credibility within the animal rights movement. I couldn’t let down all of the people who had written me to lend their support for the cause.
For me, the decision was simple. For the producers of the show, it was more complicated. George Honchar, the producer of the pageant, was a friend of mine, and we had thoroughly enjoyed working together on the show. He was in a difficult position because, as he told me and the news media, the furs were part of a contract the pageant had with a New York furrier. He said the coats were a necessary part of the show because of the advertising commitments and that he depended on my professionalism not to break my contract.
I wasn’t combative, but I was firm. I told them, “If the contestants wear fur coats, I can’t participate.”
The stage for a battle of wills was set. We met for an hour and a half on Monday night. George listened to me. I listened to him. Nothing was solved. I pleaded with him to arrange for fake furs to be used. He fell back on his obligations to his sponsors. George had a backup emcee ready in the wings to fill in for me. His name was Michael Young. He had been the emcee of the Miss Teen USA pageant.
Fortunately, our conversations leaked to the media. The story of our standoff became national news. It was labeled the “fur flap” by reporters and editors around the country. The fur flap was on the front pages of newspapers, on the radio, and on national television. People were reading and hearing about this guy who was willing to give up his job out of concern for the animals that suffered horribly in the production of fur coats. All of this national publicity was the best thing that ever happened to the antifur campaign.
The media was having a field day with this standoff, and I remember thinking that there had never been more media attention focused on the animal rights movement