The ladies have spoken! The 54th annual Miss USA pageant aired on Sunday, July 12, on Reelz after weeks of controversy related to co-owner Donald Trump, who has stood by comments he made during his presidential campaign announcement, calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and killers.” NBC and Univision may have dropped the broadcast, but that and Trump’s comments didn’t stop the contestants from voicing their opinions on immigration — or making their own flubs.
The contestants seemed thrilled to take center stage (while holding umbrellas, for some reason) at the Baton Rouge River Center in Baton Rouge, La. While the business mogul’s controversy didn’t take the strut out of their steps, there were a few stumbles.
Keep reading for a rundown of the night’s biggest moments, plus find out who took home the crown!
Shout-Out to Immigration
Well this is awkward for people named Donald Trump. Following the entrepreneur’s questionable musings on Mexican immigrants, Miss USA opted to air a pro-immigration montage highlighting the myriad cultures of their contestants — including those who are Latina. “I come from a mixed Latino family,” Miss California, Natasha Martinez, said. “My mother is an immigrant from Nicaragua and my dad is third generation Mexican.” Meanwhile, Miss Arizona, Maureen Montagne, said, “coming from a multicultural background, I would love to promote positive race relations.” Amen to that.
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It’s Swimsuit Season!
Fear not: Despite #TrumpGate2015, the Miss USA contestants still partook in the age-old tradition of walking across the stage in swimsuits while facts about their lives were announced. Sure, some of the said facts were slightly random, but Miss Texas’ rap-sheet included a nod to her culture: “Miss Texas USA comes from a small Hispanic community where a lot of disadvantaged girls look up to her, so she likes being a role model and spreading hope.”
So, Miss Nevada Tripped…
Look, walking in high heels isn’t easy, and unfortunately, Miss Nevada learned this the hard way when she tripped and almost fell over. The good news is that she handled the near-miss gracefully. The bad news is that the Q&A happened…
Miss Rhode Island and Miss Nevada Bombed the Q&A
Prayer circle for Miss Rhode Island! Anea Garcia failed the Q&A session when asked if she thought political correctness is hurting the country. Not only did she ask the judge to repeat the question, she barely managed to get out her answer before the buzzer rang.
Even worse, Miss Nevada was asked how she would improve race relations in the country, and had this to say: “Get more racist groups together and be able to be with each other in a non…we need to be more accepting of each other.” Yikes.
And the Winner Is…
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After narrowing down the top five to Oklahoma, Nevada, Texas, Rhode Island, and Maryland, Miss Oklahoma (aka Olivia Jordan) took the crown, with Miss Texas coming in as the first runner-up. Of course, the real star of the show was Olivia’s gigantic pink dress.
Tell Us: What did you think of the pageant?
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