Ex-beauty queen settles pageant lawsuit 

The settlement of a lawsuit bought by former Miss California Carrie Prejean against Miss California USA pageant organisers was settled after the emergence of a sex tape, according to TMZ.com.

A joint statement says Prejean and pageant organisers have reached a confidential settlement on Prejean's lawsuit and a counter-suit that was bought by organisers over disputed payment for her breast implants.

TMZ says Prejean essentially came away with nothing after lawyers for the pageant organisers produced a sex tape.

The pageant will pay about $100,000 to her lawyers and publicist, a fraction of her costs, the website says.

Prejean hit headlines earlier this year when she said she believed only men and women should be allowed to wed in reply to a question by a gay celebrity blogger and Miss USA pageant judge. She was subsequently named first runner-up.

In the weeks that followed, she claimed the answer cost her the Miss USA crown, agreed to appear in advertisements opposing state laws allowing same-sex couples to wed, and became a fill-in host for television programme Fox & Friends.

Topless photos of Prejean then appeared on the Internet and word spread that the pageant helped her pay for breast implants.

Pageant organisers initially retained Prejean, but in June they fired her claiming she had violated her contract by not making appearances on their behalf.

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