--- description: It turns out the pageant isn't actually giving away $45 million in scholarships every year title: Watch John Oliver Gut the Miss America Pageant on Last Week Tonight image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch John Oliver Debunk the Miss America Pageant's Scholarship Claim  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 22, 2014 2:57 PM CUT  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 22, 2014 2:57 PM CUT _Updated 6:30 pm ET_ John Oliver has done it again. The [_Last Week Tonight_](http://www.hbo.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver#/ "undefined") host summed up everything that is wrong with the annual Miss America Pageant Sunday night—from the butt glue to the 20 second responses to the question of how the U.S. should deal with ISIS. But Oliver’s team also dug into the Miss America Pageant’s assertion that they provide $45 million in scholarship funds every year. They found that the pageant winners doesn’t come even close to actually receiving that amount for complicated reasons that Oliver explains in his piece. And yet the claim that they are still the world’s largest provider of scholarships for women in the world is, sadly, true, even though women who compete for said scholarship must certify that they have never before been married or pregnant. On Monday afternoon, the Miss America Organization defended its program in a statement, saying it was common practice to advertise the total figure offered in scholarships rather than what ended up being spent. “We highlight the impressive, generous $45 million in scholarships made available in an effort to honor every one of our academic partners nationwide who make available cash and in-kind financial opportunities to the \[Miss America Organization\] and young women who participate in the program,” a spokesperson for the organization said. “Each year, more than 8,000 young women compete for scholarships…As with any scholarship, the full amount awarded may not always be used as recipients’ plans change or evolve.” ### See Photos of Every Miss America Since 1921  1921: Margaret Gorman from Washington AP  1922: Mary Katherine Campbell from Columbus, Ohio AP  1923: Mary Katherine Campbell from Columbus, Ohio New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  1924: Ruth Malcomson from Philadelphia Bettmann/Corbis  1925: Fay Lanphier from Oakland, Calif. New York Daily News Archive—NY Daily News via Getty Images  1926: Norma D. Smallwood from Tulsa, Okla. New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  1927: Lois Delander from Joliet, Ill. Hulton Archive—Getty Images  1933: Marian Bergeron from West Haven, Conn. Miss America  1935: Henrietta Leaver from Pittsburgh Imagno—Getty Images  1936: Rose Veronica Coyle from Philadelphia AP  1937: Bette Cooper from Bertrand Island, N.J. AP  1938: Marilyn Meseke from Marion, Ohio Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1939: Patricia Donnelly from Detroit Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1940: Frances Burke from Philadelphia AP  1941: Rosemary LaPlanche from Los Angeles George Enell—Getty Images  1942: Jo-Carroll Dennison from Tyler, Texas Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images  1943: Jean Bartel from Los Angeles AP  1944: Venus Ramey from Washington Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett  1945: Bess Myerson from New York Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  1946: Marilyn Buferd from Los Angeles Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1947: Barbara Walker from Memphis, Tenn. Maurice Johnson— Bettmann/CORBIS  1948: Beatrice Shopp from Hopkins, Minn. Bettmann/Corbis  1949: Jacque Mercer from Litchfield, Ariz. Bettmann/Corbis  1951: Yolande Betbeze from Mobile, Ala. Bettmann/Corbis  1952: Colleen Kay Hutchins from Salt Lake City AP  1953: Neva Langley from Macon, Ga. Miss America  1954: Evelyn Ay from Ephrate, Pa. Bettmann/Corbis  1955: Lee Meriwether from San Francisco Bettmann/Corbis  1956: Sharon Kay Ritchie from Denver Bettmann/Corbis  1957: Marian Ann McKnight from Manning, S.C. Bettmann/Corbis  1958: Marilyn Van Derbur from Denver Bob Beegle—Denver Post/Getty Images  1959: Mary Ann Mobley from Brandon, Miss. Bettmann/Corbis  1960: Lynda Mead from Natchez, Miss. Bettmann/Corbis  1961: Nancy Fleming from Montague, Mich. Bettmann/Corbis  1962: Maria Fletcher from Asheville, N.C. Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1963: Jacquelyn Mayer from Sandusky, Ohio Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1964: Donna Axum from El Dorado, Ark. Bettmann/Corbis  1965: Vonda Van Dyke from Phoenix Bettmann/Corbis  1966: Deborah Bryant from Overland Park, Kan. George Crouter—Denver Post via Getty Images  1967: Jayne Anne Jayroe from Laverne, Okla. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  1968: Debra Barnes from Pittsburg, Kan. Bettmann/Corbis  1969: Judi Ford from Belvidere, Ill. Miss America  1970: Pamela Anne Eldred from West Bloomfield, Mich. Bill Achatz—AP  1971: Phyllis George from Denton, Texas Bettmann/Corbis  1972: Laurel Lea Schaefer from Bexley, Ohio Bettmann/Corbis  1973: Terry Anne Meeuwsen from De Pere, Wis. Bettmann/Corbis  1974: Rebecca Ann King from Denver AP  1975: Shirley Cothran from Denton, Texas Miss America  1976: Tawny Godin from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. AP  1977: Dorothy Benham from Edina, Minn. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images  1978: Susan Perkins from Columbus, Ohio Miss America  1979: Kylene Barker from Roanoke, Va. Miss America  1980: Cheryl Prewitt from Ackerman, Miss. NBC/Getty Images  1981: Susan Powell from Elk City, Okla. Birns—AP  1982: Elizabeth Ward from Russellville, Ark. AP  1983: Debra Sue Maffett from Anaheim, Calif. NBC/Getty Images  1984: Vanessa Williams from Millwood, N.Y. Donna Connor—Bettmann/Corbis  1984: Suzette Charles from Mays Kanding, N.J. Bettmann/Corbis  1985: Sharlene Wells from Salt Lake City Barry Thumma—AP  1986: Susan Akin from Meridian, Miss. AP  1987: Kellye Cash from Memphis, Tenn. Mark Humphrey—AP  1988: Kaye Lani Rae Rafko from Monroe, Mich. Tom Hawley—The Monroe Evening News/AP  1989: Gretchen Carlson from Anoka, Minn. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic  1990: Debbye Turner from Columbia, Mo. Tom Patrick—AP  1991: Marjorie Vincent from Oak Park, Ill. Miss America  1992: Carolyn Sapp from Honolulu Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images  1993: Leanza Cornett from Jacksonville, Fla. Joseph Sohm—Visions of America/Corbis  1994: Kimberly Aiken from Columbia, S.C. Charles Rex Arbogast—AP  1995: Heather Whitestone from Birmingham, Ala. Donna Connor—Sygma/Corbis  1996: Shawntel Smith from Muldrow, Okla. Tom Costello—AP  1997: Tara Dawn Holland from Overland Park, Kan. Daniel Hulshizer—AP  1998: Kate Shindle from Evanston, Ill. Daniel Hulshizer—AP  1999: Nicole Johnson from Virginia Beach, Va. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  2000: Heather French from Maysville, Ky. Donna Connor—Sygma/Corbis  2001: Angela Perez Baraquio from Honolulu Tom Mihalek—AFP/Getty Images  2002: Katie Harman from Gresham, Ore. Tom Mihalek—AFP/Getty Images  2003: Erika Harold from Urbana, Ill. Brian Branch—AP  2004: Ericka Dunlap from Orlando, Fla. William Thomas Cain—Getty Images  2005: Deidre Downs from Birmingham, Ala. Brian Branch Price—AP  2006: Jennifer Berry from Tulsa, Okla. Susan L. Gregg—Reuters/Corbis  2007: Lauren Nelson from Lawton, Okla. Ethan Miller—Getty Images  2008: Kirsten Haglund from Farmington Hills, Mich. Jae C. Hong—AP  2009: Katie Stam from Seymour, Ind. Isaac Brekken—AP  2010: Caressa Cameron from Fredericksburg, Va. Ethan Miller—Getty Images  2011: Teresa Scanlan from Gering, Neb. Steve Marcus—Reuters/Corbis  2012: Laura Kaeppeler from Kenosha, Wis. Steve Marcus—Reuters/Corbis  2013: Mallory Hytes Hagan from Brooklyn, N.Y. Steve Marcus—Reuters/Corbis  2014: Nina Davuluri from Syracuse, N.Y. Aristide Economopoulos—Star Ledger/Corbis  2015: Kira Kazantsev from Manhattan MJT/AdMedia/Corbis  Miss Arkansa, Savvy Shields, waves to crowd after being named new the Miss America 2017 in Atlantic City, N.J., Sept. 11, 2016. Noah K. Murray—AP _This post has been updated with the Miss America Organization’s statement._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3418349/john-oliver-miss-america-pageant-scholarships/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3418349/john-oliver-miss-america-pageant-scholarships/"},"headline":"Watch John Oliver Debunk the Miss America Pageant's Scholarship Claim","datePublished":"2014-09-22T14:57:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:50.816Z","description":"It turns out the pageant isn't actually giving away $45 million in scholarships every year","url":"https://time.com/3418349/john-oliver-miss-america-pageant-scholarships/","keywords":["Living","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3418349/john-oliver-miss-america-pageant-scholarships/","name":"Watch John Oliver Debunk the Miss America Pageant's Scholarship Claim"}}]}] ```