Miss USA embarrassed by vitriol

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DETROIT, April 10 (UPI) -- Michigan's Rima Fakih, the reigning Miss USA and first Muslim-American title-holder, is now competing on national television to become a professional wrestler.

A contestant on USA's "WWE Tough Enough," which debuted last week, the Dearborn, Mich., native recently told the Detroit Free Press she wants young girls to take a lesson about standing up for themselves.

"Yea, I'm a beauty queen, but I'm (expletive) tough," she told the paper about the show, which airs at 8 p.m. Monday on USA Network.

In the show's first episode, she was taped in a bad-word-ridden exchange with another cast member, Mikael Zaki, who was doused with water after he was shown throwing a pillow at Fakih.

The beauty queen, who holds the title until June 19 when a new Miss USA is crowned, told the Free Press she is embarrassed about the bad words, and is quoted as saying "I don't want young girls to think it's OK to use bad words."