Pageant Official -- Prejean's Suit Is Publicity Stunt

TMZ just received the following statement from Miss California USA honcho Keith Lewis, lashing back at the lawsuit Carrie Prejean filed against him this morning for religious discrimination:

"It appears that suits from both sides are now inevitable against the other.

I would guess Carrie sees it as a chance to get publicity for her upcoming book because in the interviews I have seen, she talks about the suit and the book in the same breath.

We have no problem with her selling lots of books - considering in the current situation we could stand to profit from every copy she sells.

For us, it has never been about her beliefs and we have always just wanted to move on.

But it seems like Carrie really has nothing new to talk about or anything new in her life so the impression is she just keeps looking for ways to rehash her position as a victim because of her onstage answer."

UPDATE: Keith just added a bit more ... "I guess hell hath no fury like a Miss without her crown. We're all looking forward to a less litigious party when we crown the next Miss California USA November 22."