Miss Kansas pageant winner dramatically and powerfully calls out her ‘abuser’ from stage
Alexis Smith won the Miss Kansas 2024 beauty pageant (Instagram)
Alexis Smith, the winner of the Miss Kansas beauty pageant, has called out her alleged abuser on stage.
In a widely shared clip, Smith is asked what her vision would be as the “next brand ambassador for the Miss Kansas organisation”.
She responds: “My vision as the next Miss Kansas is to eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships.”
“Matter of fact, some of you out in the audience saw me very emotional because my abuser is here today. But that’s not going to stop me from being on this Miss Kansas stage and from representing as the next Miss Kansas. Because I, and my community, deserve healthy relationships.”
Smith shared a clip of her speech on Instagram, writing in the caption that her “journey took an unexpected turn” during the Miss Kansas competition when she realised her abuser was also there.
“Instead of falling into silence, I chose to live out my vision for a better world. I took back my power – not just for myself, but for my dreams and everyone watching and listening,” Smith wrote.
Smith added that she will be using her “story, tools, and resources” to end unhealthy relationships and she hopes that her advocacy “will empower everyone to reclaim their own power”.
Smith did not name the person she was in an abusive relationship with but previously told news outlet KSN that “every single woman” in her family has been impacted by domestic violence.
She was 14 when she got into a relationship with someone who was abusive, which is something she’s “still experiencing and dealing with today”.
“I took advantage of the Miss Kansas Organisation, which truly focuses on empowering women. And me, being a woman who needed that empowerment all my life, being a bystander to domestic violence, a victim, a survivor, and now an advocate as well as a young woman who is educationally driven, I have the opportunity not only to share my story on such a large scale but also go back to school,” Smith added.
State pageants have been growing steadily more progressive in recent years, with Bailey Anne Kennedy making history in June after being crowned the first trans and Asian-American Miss Maryland USA.
Kennedy is Cambodian-American and is also the first military spouse to win the title. She told Washington DC TV station: “I knew it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ+ kids out there who might feel they don’t belong in a box, like me, growing up.”
Also, the winner of Miss Alabama 2024 is plus-sized, though sadly she received a lot of fatphobic abuse and vile comments after her win.
But the pageant said it welcomes entrants of “varying heights, weights and appearances” and wants to celebrate “special and unique individuals”.
