A natural blond, Campanella dyed her hair red, saying that flaxen-haired women are too often stereotyped as “big smelly dumb-dumbs.” She also wanted to express her support for less fortunate, frequently bullied “gingers,” a group she donates a great deal of time and money to helping.
Classic Beauty is Classics Lover
Alyssa Campanella captured the hearts and imaginations of pageant judges after admitting that she was a “huge history geek” with a special interest in the Tudor and Stuart periods.
“I watch ‘Game of Thrones,’ I watched ‘Camelot’ -- I know those are fantasy, but I also watch ‘The Tudors,’ so I’m a huge history geek,” she told co-host Giuliana Rancic.
She added in the interview that her favorite monarch was Mary, Queen of Scots, who was beheaded in 1587. She first gained interest in the life of Mary after listening to a famous Monty Python radio skit called “The Death of Mary, Queen of Scots.” A partial transcript of the bit follows:
Man’s voice: Yoo arrr Mary, Queen of Scots?
Woman’s voice: I am!
(sound of violent blows being dealt, things being smashed, awful crunching noises, bones being broken, and other bodily harm being inflicted. All of this accompanied by screaming from the woman.)
(music fades up and out)
Other historical dramas that have influenced Campanella’s passion for antiquities and bygone eras include “Braveheart,” Sophia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette,” “A Knight’s Tale,” “300,” “Gladiator,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” and “Shakespeare in Love.”
Tough Cookie Campanella Tackles Tough Questions
Campanella won the title despite giving a muddled answer when a judge asked her whether marijuana should be legalized in California, particularly for economic reasons.
“Well, I understand why that question would be asked, especially with today’s economy, but I also understand that medical marijuana is very important to help those who need it medically,” Campanella said. “In that way, medical marijuana is sort of like medicine. I’m not sure if it should be legalized, if it would really affect, with the drug war. That kind of tells me there’s a war going on, and the people on drugs are winning. America doesn’t lose wars. So we need to get the Army in there and take down the Islamic pot lords. I mean, it’s abused today, unfortunately, so that’s the only reason why I would kind of be a little bit against it, but medically it’s OK. And if the law-making people legalize it, then that would be great too. But I still wouldn’t do it because my friends tell me that weed makes you hungry, and I can’t risk eating food at this stage in my career.”
Campanella also stood firm in the face of controversy when she espoused the idea of teaching evolution in schools, subsequently declaring herself a “science geek.”
“I’m a huge science geek too. I was taught evolution in high school. I believe in the Big Bang Theory,” she added. “It’s a great show, and I hope it gets renewed. Also, as I look around the audience and my fellow contestants, it’s hard to deny the theory of evolution. Don’t so many of them look like they came from monkeys?”
(c) 2011. All stories are works of satire and parody.