Trump says Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado gained 'a massive amount of weight'

Oh no, Donald.
 By 
Nicole Gallucci
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

UPDATE: Sept. 27, 2016, 4:05 p.m. EDT Updated to include comments from Alicia Machado from a press call on Tuesday.

During Monday night's debate, Hillary Clinton pressed the issue of Donald Trump's misogynistic views toward women by highlighting a string of negative comments he made about former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado.

At the debate, Clinton called Trump out for saying "women don't deserve equal pay unless they do as good of a job as men." She then said Trump referred to Machado as "Miss Piggy" because of her weight and "Miss Housekeeping" because of her Latina heritage, both of which were included in a new advertisement featuring Machado that was released later that evening.


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Trump interviewed with Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning and took the time to address his past relationship with Machado by making a blunt statement about her physical appearance.

Trump described Machado as "the absolute worst," and targeted her weight gain following the competition. "She was the winner, and, you know, she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem. We had a real problem," Trump said.

In the campaign commercial, the 1996 Miss Universe winner told the story of how she was allegedly humiliated and disrespected by Trump, following her win.

In addition to insults brought up by Clinton, Machado also admitted to Trump calling her "ugly" and "fat," and not paying her properly for her work.

Trump then added to those comments with his response on Tuesday, which was met with the following reaction from his Fox & Friends interviewers:

Reactions on Twitter shared the same tone:

At the debate Clinton told Trump that Alicia Machado has become a U.S. citizen, and "you can bet she's going to vote this November."

On Tuesday afternoon, Machado spoke out, telling reporters on a press call that Trump's candidacy is a nightmare for her and she is here to support Hillary Clinton and women.

"I never thought and never imagined that 20 years later I would be in this position," she said, explaining to reporters that as she watched the debate she did not expect to hear her name on national television.

Today, Machado identifies as an actress, mother, businesswoman and activist, and believes that this story about her Miss Universe days "can open eyes for this election."

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Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.

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