September is celebration season, a busy time for the sitting Queen of the Bay. Except this morning it was confirmed that there is no sitting queen, because Kendall Morgan had been unceremoniously stripped of her crown.
That was spelt out in a lengthy press release - and it incensed Morgan who visited our studio today with her attorney to have him get out her side of the story.
Jomarie Lanza has the story:
First there was a queen who never was, then there was the queen who lost her crown.
It all started when the National Celebrations Committee released their annual playbook, but something was missing. Why was the picture of a former Queen of the bay used instead of the current sitting Queen's photo of Kendall Morgan?
These past few days allegations involving Ms Morgan being stripped of her title have flooded the social media outlets. And it was confirmed this morning when the National Queen of the Bay committee issued a release detailing their why they, quote, "unanimously decided to revoke Ms. Kendall Morgan title as the 78th Queen of the Bay." Her attorney says that they have yet to disclose to his client what may have caused them to come to this decision. The letter details that Morgan had violated a number of terms in her contract accusing her, quote "for instances of bullying, cyberbullying, and general discourteous and disrespectful behaviour." Saldivar says their claims are baseless.
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney
"Miss Morgan is not involved in cyberbullying. That's not her personality. She has not ever engaged in that kind of activity. And I'm saying here unequivocally that such allegations are defamatory."
Reporter
"The contract states, and I quote, that her behavior has been discourteous and disrespectful. What do you suppose that they mean by this? What are they trying to indicate? What has she done?"
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney
"This is what I wanted to ask, because those are very pointed words to use."
"Now, you must have certain events, certain incidences that you can point to where you arrive at this conclusion that she has been discourteous. Please, let them come forward and make clear what they're talking about."
"So far as those things are concerned, again, it's not of such an egregious nature to warrant in the penultimate month the kind of decision that was made. Not to mention, however, the fact that her prizes that she was supposedly to receive after winning the crown, were never given to her."
"She was never afforded a trip to New York. She was never given 90 percent of the things that these people promised they would give when she participated and won that event."
Morgan is now in the process of taking legal action against the committee for defaming her character. Saldivar says that the committee's procedures are highly unprofessional.
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney
"Again, I will say this, the committee seems to me to be loaded with... has been's, never was, and never could be's, and as a result of it, these people are living quite comfortably in their delusions."
"You can just imagine, this is devastating. You don't take a young lady who has sacrificed, as Kendall has, to live up to the standard that was expected of her, and simply on the base of spurious allegations, rip her down to shreds in the face of the nation."
"This is, as I said, character assassination at its worst. It's defamatory, it is low down, it is despicable and disgusting, and those people should be ashamed of themselves."
And when we spoke to the Chairman of the September Celebrations Commission today he was unaware of the situation and doesn't even know who the sitting Queen is
Jo-
"Sir what do you make of the Queen of the bay being removed from her seat due to violations in her contract?"
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture
"First I am hearing of it I wasn't aware of that when was that?"
Jo-
"It started when the playbook was released and her picture was not included in the national celebrations playbook?"
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture
"No I was not aware of that so I comment on it I don't know about it. Yeah I am not aware of that. I really don't follow to be honest, I don't even know who is the Queen of the Bay. Unfortunately."
Jules Vasquez
"But there was a release saying they are renouncing her or stripping her."
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture
"By Who?"
Jules Vasquez
"By the committee."
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture
"Oh the committee okay, yeah they run their own show and we provide some support for them, I don't know, I don't know about it."
The Queen of the Bay Committee has not yet announced who the new sitting queen is.
