Vanessa Williams - the infamous "Miss America" who was stripped of her crown in 1984 - is coming home.
She will serve as a judge for the pageant’s 2015 installment, airing this Sunday, 9/8 ET on ABC.
Williams was the first African-American to win the title, but was forced to step down 10 months later when Penthouse magazine published nude photos she’d taken prior to the competition.
It did not stall a career that has since seen her top the Billboard charts, grace a Broadway stage, and chew up scenery on TV ("Ugly Betty"), to name but a few triumphs.
Still, the scandal comes up in 9 out of 10 articles written about Williams, even when she's doing a Q&A about making breakfast.
The pageant is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. But is Miss America in any position to celebrate?
Last year's competition was particularly problematic:
• Before the pageant began, several Atlantic City casinos had closed or were in the process of closing. The economic woes facing the community made Miss America — though it had been billed as a boost to the city — seem even more irrelevant.
• Not long after the 2015 pageant aired last September, late-night star John Oliver pointed out how "Miss America" has overstated the amount of money awarded through its local, state and national scholarship programs.
• Then there was the issue of last year's winner, Kira Kazantsev. She had to make a statement on national TV after it was reported that she had allegedly been dismissed from her Hofstra University sorority because she participated in hazing.
In an effort to contemporize the pageant, the production company behind the event has brought in 19-year-old singer and actress Zendaya, known for her Disney Channel shows, to be a celebrity judge, and the ubiquitous Nick Jonas as "music curator." Yeah, the guy behind the hit songs "Jealous" and "Chains" - one-third of the Jonas Brothers.
Miss Iowa and Miss South Carolina emerged as the first winners at the competition in Atlantic City on Tuesday night. They captured top honors in the first round of preliminary competition at Boardwalk Hall.
Miss Iowa, Taylor Wiebers, impressed the judges by singing a song from the TV show "Smash," winning a $2,000 scholarship.
Miss South Carolina, Daja Dial, took the category officially known as Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit, winning a $1,000 scholarship.
Real Contenders
• Victoria Cowen, the 21-year-old Miss Florida, won swimsuit and wasn't too shabby on talent, either, buoyantly navigating her lyrical dance routine.
• Miss Mississippi, Jasmine Murray, 22, a onetime contestant on "American Idol," brought the house down with her vocal performance. Though she didn't win talent, she definitely makes an impression.
• Talent winner and Miss Kentucky Ramsey Carpenter, 23, once lost the ability to play her fiddle, and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. MS awareness is her platform, and she spoke with authority about "the invisible disease" during her onstage interview.
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