In what is sure to be the most talked-about moment of the Miss USA pageant, Perez Hilton fired a question to Miss California. Her answer caused the audience to boo and put Perez in a serious snit.

Perez, one of the judges of the event, asked Miss Cali (her actual name, by the way, is Carrie Prejean) about the issue of same-sex marriage, citing Vermont’s recent ruling to allow same-sex marriage licenses in the state. He asked the contestant if she thought every state should follow Vermont’s example, or if they should not - and why.

In 2008, California became the second state in the Union to legally allow same-sex marriages, though the issue has been consistently raised in state (arguably the most liberal state in the entire US) since the early 1970s. Proposition 8 stopped same-sex marriage in Cali in November of the same year, though the issue is still a source of much debate and could be subject to change.

After some initial hemming and hawing, Miss Carrie Prejean, from California, answered him. “In my country, and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.” There were some cheers in the audience, but plenty of boos as well. Perez Hilton was so upset about her answer, he created an extremely angry vlog entry on his site. View it here (warning: mature language is featured in this video).

On-the-scene reporters say Prejean’s answer caused a backstage blowup, a shouting match that sparked over of the controversial issue and answer. Miss California went on to become the runner-up in the contest; the crown was won by Miss North Carolina.