An ugly aftermath for beauty pageant

Miss Los Angeles aced the swimsuit competition.

Looked great in an evening gown.

Poise?

You be the judge:

When Christina Silva of Koreatown was asked on the final day of the Miss California USA beauty pageant 10 days ago in Los Angeles if she was a leader or a follower, she said:

"I'm a leader. I'm on top and in front."

Silva's adoring family was in attendance at the Orpheum Theatre, sweating it out as she made the cut to the final 15, the final 10, the final five. And then, the impossible dream:

Silva, a 24-year-old actress, was crowned Miss California.

Her first thought: Miss USA or bust!

Imagine, then, the crushing blow that came just four days later. Silva said she was summoned to the Los Angeles home of pageant director Keith Lewis. She thought she would be signing a contract that would open doors to unlimited opportunity. Instead, she was told the unimaginable.

Due to a so-called error in the tabulation of voting by pageant judges, she was not a winner, after all. Nice try and see you later.

Instead, the crown belonged to Miss Barstow, Raquel Beez- ley, who had been second runner-up.

"It was the shock of my life," says Silva, who didn't understand the explanation that judges' point totals had been accidentally reversed.

"I went there with such joy and happiness in my heart, and when I was told I didn't win, I just broke down and cried. My mom held me and I said, 'Why me? Why is this happening?' "

Excellent questions, if you ask me. And here's another: "What kind of Mickey Mouse operation is the pageant, anyway?"

Let's not forget this is all part of some Donald Trump fantasy. His Miss Everything operation includes Miss Universe and Miss USA, and the most interesting news always seems to come out after the winners are crowned. Trump fired one Miss Universe and almost dumped last year's Miss USA when she entered rehab.

How about firing some of the people running the show?

To add insult to injury, Silva says Lewis pushed her to play the role of Miss Congeniality and personally call Miss Barstow to break the news. This would have been like asking Jennifer Aniston to call Angelina Jolie and offer to turn over her wedding ring.

"I'm not going to use the word threatened, but I am going to use the words pressured and manipulated," says Silva, who has since hired an attorney to argue her case.

I'll get to Lewis' response in a moment.