Donald Trump and Miss Universe bosses sue beauty queen

Property tycoon-turned-reality TV star Donald Trump has carried out his threat to sue an ex-Miss USA contestant who challenged the validity of the beauty pageant earlier this week (beg04Jun12).

Sheena Monnin stepped down as Miss Pennsylvania and went public with claims last Sunday's (03Jun12) beauty contest was fixed, alleging a fellow contestant had told her of the existence of a top five list long before judges voted.

Trump, who owns the Miss USA parent organization Miss Universe, threatened to sue Monnin if she didn't retract her remarks and apologize, but the defiant former beauty queen refused and appeared on TV on Friday (08Jun12), insisting she was seeking out the truth.

Now, lawyers representing Trump and the Miss Universe Organization have filed for defamation in a private court.

TMZ.com reports the lawyers are asking for "significant damages".