Miss Kansas has gone viral on social media for her empowering message after revealing she suffered from abuse: “I took back my power—not just for myself, but for my dreams and everyone watching and listening.”
Advertisement
Smith won the Miss Kansas pageant at the beginning of June and the organization posted the moment Smith revealed that her alleged abuser was in the audience on multiple platforms. The pageant interviewer had just asked Smith how she would use her role as brand ambassador if she won.
Wow! Miss Kansas made a huge impact by calling out that her abuser was in the audience! pic.twitter.com/ZteKLhEzNF
In the viral clip, Smith says she wants to “eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships.”
“Some of you out in this audience saw me very emotional because my abuser is here today,” Smith said. Smith did not identify her abuser in her answer or in her social media posts.
“My family, every single woman in my family, was impacted by domestic violence,” she told local station KSNW, an NBC affiliate in Witchita, Kansas. “At the age of 14, I got in my first relationship, but it was also an abusive relationship that I was in until about 2018, 2019. It’s something that I’m still experiencing and dealing with today.”
Advertisement
Smith wants to use her platform, “Respect Reclaimed: Advocating for Healthy Relationships,” to make an impact on curbing domestic abuse and she also plans on competing in the next Miss America pageant, set for January 2025.
