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Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee filled in for ex-Miss California at Whippany event

BY JEN CALANTONE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Following the public release of a five-year-old sex tape, ex-Miss California Carrie Prejean cancelled her appearance at a "pro-traditional marriage" dinner Friday, Nov. 6.

Prejean was scheduled to speak to the New Jersey Family Policy Council, but was instead replaced by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

The California beauty queen lost her title in June as a result of a contractual dispute. She had often been criticized for her public opposition to gay marriage.

The "Defenders of the Family" dinner was scheduled for last Friday at the Hanover Marriott Hotel in Whippany. Despite the release of the tape, Prejean opted out of the speech and was not uninvited.

The council, which is based in Parsippany, seeks "to intervene and respond to the breakdown that the traditional family, the cornerstone of a virtuous society, is experiencing," according to its Web site.

She described the tape, which she made for a boyfriend when she was 17-years-old, as "the biggest mistake of [her] life," according to the Associated Press.