It's the battle of the beauty queens - not in a contest, but in the courtroom.
Alice Lee Giannetta, 37, who was a former Mrs. New York is taking on a former Mrs. Montana, Tana Johnson, 44, who claims Giannetta is a 'liar and a thief' accusing her of stealing cash from the Mrs. World beauty pageant.
Giannetta, who is a Manhattan lawyer, is using her legal prowess to take on Johnson who is a pharmacist and mother of four.
Former Mrs. New York, Alice Lee Giannetta, 37, is taking on a former Mrs. Montana, Tana Johnson, 44, after Johnson claimed that Giannetta pictured, was a 'liar and a thief'
Johnson accused Giannetta of stealing funds from the Mrs. World competition.
Johnson claimed in a May press release and Facebook post that Giannetta has refused to return an unspecified amount of cash she took from sponsors as she worked to set up the 2021 Mrs. World competition in Sri Lanka.
The press release castigated Giannetta for questioning the health of Mrs. World founder David Marmel. But there was some truth - Marmel, 84, passed away from cancer on September 1.
The release also told of Gianetta's 'lack of character'.
Giannetta, was the first Asian woman to win the Mrs. New York crown in 2016, then Mrs. Hong Kong in 2017 and secured the Mrs. World title in 2018.
Giannetta states in court papers as seen by the New York Post, that the such spurious claims of her 'misappropriating funds' couldn't be any further from the truth.
Former Mrs. Montana, Tana Johnson, is accusing Giannetta of stealing cash from Mrs. World beauty pageant
Giannetta is now suing Johnson, pictured right, for making her out to be a 'liar and a thief'
Giannetta says that she was working with Marmel to bring the competition to Sri Lanka in 2021 and was doing so officially and with the permission of the Mrs. World organization, calling herself 'one of the most prolific title holders in the history of the pageant', who 'tirelessly' did charity work and promoted Mrs. World.
She states that she was using business contacts throughout Sri Lanka and had been 'clearly authorized and licensed' to do work on behalf of the contest and had even been offered a share of ownership of the organization and that Johnson is wrong to accuse her of being a 'liar and a thief'.
But Johnson who is now vice president of the Mrs. World organization did not hold back in her revelations calling Giannetta a 'disgraced ex Mrs. World' who'd been 'sacked'.
Giannetta claims she was asked to work for pageant by founder David Marmel, 84, pictured. Marmel passed away from cancer on September 1 before the lawsuit was launched
Giannetta says that she was working with Marmel to bring the competition to Sri Lanka in 2021 and was doing so officially and with the permission of the Mrs. World organization
Giannetta was named Mrs. New York in 2016, became Mrs. Hong Kong in 2017, and was crowned Mrs. World in 2018.
'If any of you paid monies to her for any purported Mrs. World related purpose — that's money stolen! … She had no authorization from Mrs. World to accept revenues for any reason,' Johnson wrote.
Giannetta ended up suing Johnson, the Mrs World contest and Marmel this July. She then filed a $3 million defamation and libel case against Johnson in court in Manhattan last week.
Giannetta claims that it was in fact Marmel himself who asked her to become more involved in the Mrs. World organization. She noted that she has been 'irreparably' harmed by Johnson's 'malicious' words.
'I would never file a federal lawsuit unless I was confident of the truth,' Giannetta said to The Post.
Johnson's lawyer has fought back.
'We believe that, at the end of the day, the allegations will be proved erroneous and that the case will be dismissed,' said her lawyer, Leonard Steiner
Johnson called Giannetta, pictured in pink, a 'disgraced ex Mrs. World' who'd been 'sacked'
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