Farouk System Group, sponsor of the Miss USA Pageant, calls the contestant photos “very tasteful and classy!” Do you agree?

Who knew raunchy, porn-style photos could be considered artistic? Well, apparently that’s exactly what that sponsors of the 2010 Miss USA Pageant believe. We got an EXCLUSIVE statement from Farouk System Group, and the sponsors says they “support the [Miss Universe] Organization 100 percent” and completely stand behind the promo pictures in question. They don’t think the photos should considered provocative or scandalous. In fact, they “believe the images and hair are very tasteful and classy,” says Jessica Guitierrez, Director of Publicity for the sponsor.

Here is the full EXCLUSIVE statement:

“We’ve done this pageant for eight years now. We’ve always been involved in the organization. It’s not really that new for us. We’re use to the press that we get. As far as Fadil Berisha, the photographer, he’s been doing the pageant pictures for a long time now. We trust him as an artist. Our artists who do hair, they’re back there working with him on the shoot as they’re doing the hair for all these contestants. We feel comfortable with him because we trust him. He’s an artist. We trust his creative and professional instinct. Basically, we believe the images and hair are very tasteful and classy. … The images — it’s just the look, the look is really different. I’ve done several shoots with Fadil, so he’s just an amazing artist to work with. It’s always a great experience to work with him. We support the organization 100% because we trust his creative and professional instinct. We know that he’s an artist, so we stand by them 100 percent.”

What do you think of the photos. If you haven’t seen them yet, then judge for yourself by clicking here!

— Lindsey DiMattina