Washington, October 21 Former Miss California Carrie Prejean was not stripped off her crown over religious discrimination, but because she was not the best in the lot, Miss USA Judge Claudia Jordan has said.

Prejean, 22, was dethroned after being caught up in a controversy involving her open opposition to gay marriage and a nude photo shoot.

Former pageant princess Jordan's comments come after Prejean slapped the state organization with a lawsuit alleging she lost her title over her religious beliefs.

"She needs to go away already. I was a judge [Jordan judged Prejean in both the Miss California and Miss USA pageants] and I can tell you she lost not because of religious discrimination but because she wasn't the best one," Fox News quoted Jordan as saying.

"She wasn't the prettiest, she wasn't the best in evening or in swimsuit," she added.

The "Deal or No Deal" beauty further said: "You can't disrespect the 50 other women in the competition and say you had it in the bag when you didn't. How arrogant you are to think you didn't win because of your religion. I was surprised she even made it into the top five to be honest with you." (ANI)