The Venezuelan stunner appeared in the Mexican version of the hit dance show
SUPPORTERS of Donald Trump claim the former beauty queen who accused him of calling her 'Miss Piggy' is using the controversy to reignite her career after she appeared on 'Dancing With The Stars'.
Venezuelan beauty Alicia Machado was caught on camera in the audience in last night's episode and fans of the controversial presidential candidate were quick to blast her on social media.
The 39-year-old, a former contestant on Mexico's version of the dancing reality show, tweeted out some official 'DWTS' items about the dances on her Twitter feed after the show, which was a tribute to Cirque du Soleil.
But she was blasted as a 'self-promoter' and a 'fame-seeker' by supporters of the much-maligned wannabe president.
One wrote:" Obviously an attention seeker and 'I need to be in the spotlight' kind of person. Go away...just go away."
Another called her a "self-promoter who will go to great lengths to keep whatever level of fame she has going".
An insider told : "Often, 'DWTS' producers approach people in the news to see if they would like to compete on the show—and if they are controversial, it's even better, like Ryan Lochte this season.
"Many times, the celebrities check it out by being an audience member first and seeing if it might be something they'll want to do."
The former Miss Universe and Donald Trump critic turned up in the reality show's audience on Monday night, leading insiders to wonder if she's thinking of joining 'DWTS' for a future season.
Viewers saw Machado twice on camera as a smiling audience member in the "DWTS" ballroom-- watching curvy talk show hostess Amber Rose and later, race car driver James Hinchcliffe.
Machado was crowned winner of Miss Universe in 1996, a competition which had just been bought by Trump.
After winning, the then-19-year-old found herself gaining weight which was deemed unacceptable by the Manhattan business mogul.
Threatening to strip her of her title, Trump ordered Alicia to diet and forced her to complete a stringent workout regime.
On one occasion he forced her to workout in-front of him and members of the press who filmed and snapped photographs of her.
Hillary Clinton referred to Alicia Machado in the first live 2016 presidential debate when branding rival Donald Trump 'sexist'.
She said of her: "One of the worst things he said was about a woman in a beauty contest.
"He loves beauty contests, supporting them and hanging around them, and he called this woman 'Miss Piggy,' then he called her 'Miss Housekeeping' because she was Latina."
Alicia Machado has been thrust into the limelight after Clinton brought up the alleged insults she was subject to by Trump.
Here are five facts about her.
Venezuelan beauty Alicia Machado was crowned winner of Miss Universe in 1996, a competition which had just been bought by Trump.
After winning, the then-19-year-old found herself gaining weight which was deemed unacceptable by the Manhattan business mogul.
Threatening to strip her of her title, Trump ordered Alicia to diet and forced her to complete a stringent workout regime.
On one occasion he forced her to workout in-front of him and members of the press who filmed and snapped photographs of her.
The now 39-year-old Alicia reflected on this time in a video endorsing his rival Hilary.
She said: “I was the first Miss Universe after Trump bought the pageant.
“He was overwhelming. I was very scared of him. He’d yell at me all the time. He’d tell me, ‘You look ugly,’ or, ‘You look fat.’ Sometimes he’d ‘play’ with me and say, ‘Hello, Miss Piggy’, ‘Hello, Miss Housekeeping’.’
Alicia claims it took her five years to get over his treatment of her, during which she battled with eating disorders anorexia and bulimia.
Alicia went on to trade pageants for success as an actress, starring in a string of telenovelas – a childhood dream come true.
She is also a successful businesswoman, with a line of products bearing her name.
According to her website, she was nominated for a Grammy, launched a fashion line, and appeared on the cover of more than 100 magazines.
The mum-of-one can add ‘activist’ to her list of accolades.
In June she teamed up with civil rights icon Dolores Huerta in Virginia to join immigrant advocacy groups in encouraging Latinos to register and vote for Clinton.
On August 19 Alicia became a registered US citizen and pledged to use her first ever vote in Clinton’s favour.
In 1998 – just two years after being crowned – Alicia was accused in court documents in her home country of driving her boyfriend away from the scene of a shooting.
Judge Maximiliano Fuenmayor said on national television that she threatened ‘to ruin my career as a judge and … kill me’, the AP reported.
Reuters reported that he ‘said she would make sure, using her friendship with the president (Rafael Caldera), that my career as judge is ruined and then she would kill me’.
The indictment, if it had led to criminal trial, would have carried a jail term of up to 18 months if she had been found guilty.
It’s reported that she admitted making the call but that that she said it was to thank him for what it described as ‘his unbiased pursuit of justice’.
