Heather Mills judges Miss US pageant

Apr 13 2008 by Ken Oxley, Sunday Sun

HEATHER MILLS was greeted with jeers and cheers after being unveiled as a judge in a US beauty pageant.

The outspoken former model from Washington, Tyne and Wear — who was criticised for being “less than candid” by the judge in her £24.3m divorce case — helped decide the winner of this year’s Miss USA 2008 Pageant in Las Vegas

And when hosts Donny and Marie Osmond first introduced her to the audience at the event, held on Friday at the swanky Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, she raised her eyebrows as the crowd booed and cheered her.

The 40-year-old was smiling and joking with her fellow judges as the TV cameras panned to her.

She said: “Twenty five years ago I did one of these competitions . . . a long, long time ago. And it’s a lot of work. People don’t understand they look for this and work for this for years and years.

“Really, really difficult job this, but 20 times harder to walk out there and be brave enough.”

Ms Mills’ latest TV appearance came just hours after she taunted ex-husband Sir Paul McCartney, claiming he had three girlfriends, during an interview with GMTV from Las Vegas.

She added: “A lot of people weren’t aware that the winners help to raise millions of dollars for breast and ovarian cancer and so I agreed that I would come along as a judge.”

Miss Texas, Crystle Stewart, was crowned Miss USA 2008 and will now go on to the finals of the Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam in July.