“I am a woman,” she said Tuesday, flanked by her high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred.

“I was devastated and I felt that excluding me for the reason they have stated was unjust.

“I have never asked for any special consideration. I only wanted to compete.”

But by then, pageant organizers had already reversed course on Talackova's eligibility at the behest of Trump, who is president and owner of the Miss Universe organization.

"As long as she meets the standards of legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, which we understand that she does, Jenna Talackova is free to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant," Michael Cohen, special counsel to Trump and executive vice president of his business group, told Reuters.

"Nobody is capitulating. Rather the Miss Universe organization is respecting the laws of Canada," Cohen told Reuters, adding that she, "like all the other contestants, is wished the best of luck by Mr. Trump."

He also said, "Assuming she wins, she would be the representative of that country (Canada)" in the larger Miss Universe Pageant.

Talackova also called on Trump to eliminate rules that would bar transgender competitors.

"I do not want any other woman to suffer the discrimination that I have endured,” she told the press conference.

Celebrity gossip website TMZ.com reported Tuesday that Trump won’t apologize for disqualifying Talackova.

Trump “couldn’t care less” whether she competes, said TMZ.

A Trump associate did not return an email from a Province reporter by deadline seeking clarification of Talackova’s status.

Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert said Miss Universe Canada is wrong to discriminate against her.

“I think a beauty pageant should be about beauty — not about gender — and a very explicit version of gender which does not include trans people,” he told The Province.

“Trans individuals in British Columbia and across the world face a much higher rate of violence against them,” he said.

“They face discrimination at the workplace and in terms of getting apartments.”

Talackova said earlier that she became aware she was a female at the age of four, began hormone therapy at age 14 and had a sex change four years ago.

— With a file from Reuters

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