The newly topped Miss Kansas has gone viral for calling out her abuser on the pageant stage.
Alexis Smith, of Butler County, was formally topped Miss Kansas on June 8, beating out 25 different contestants for the title in response to KWCH in Wichita, Kansas, and The Related Press.
In the course of the interview portion of the competition, which Smith shared on social media, she firmly said her purpose as Miss Kansas could be to “get rid of unhealthy and abusive relationships.”
She then made a shocking declaration: “A few of you out on this viewers noticed me very emotional, as a result of my abuser is right here right now.”
“However that’s not going to cease me from being on this Miss Kansas stage and representing as the following Miss Kansas,” she continued. “I and my neighborhood deserve wholesome relationships. We deserve a home [violence]-free life.”
Respect Reclaimed!
Our time is now for wholesome relationships.#MissAmerica #ThereSheIs #Pageants #RespectReclaimed #MissKansas pic.twitter.com/npejBb6CCs
— Alexis Smith, Miss Kansas (@MissAmericaKS) July 16, 2024
In a assertion on Instagram and Fb, the 25-year-old shared a clip of her remarks, writing additional about how they linked to her platform of “Respect Reclaimed.”
“On the evening of Miss Kansas, my journey took an sudden flip when somebody I’ve been therapeutic from tried to disrupt my peace,” she wrote. “As a substitute of falling into silence, I selected to dwell out my imaginative and prescient for a greater world. I took again my energy—not only for myself, however for my goals and everybody watching and listening.”
“This isn’t about shunning others,” she added. “It’s about turning our ache into functions and channeling it in a means that unifies and uplifts.”
On July 16, a clip of the on-stage second was shared on Smith’s official X account, which then went viral. The video has been seen over 67,000 instances on X alone.
Now, Smith, a cardiothoracic ICU nurse, is sharing extra of her story.
“My household, each single girl in my household, was impacted by home violence,” she advised KSN. “On the age of 14, I acquired in my first relationship, but it surely was additionally an abusive relationship that I used to be in till about 2018, 2019. It’s one thing that I’m nonetheless experiencing and coping with right now.”
“I took benefit of the Miss Kansas Group, which really focuses on empowering girls,” she added. “And me, being a girl who wanted that empowerment all my life, being a bystander to home violence, a sufferer, a survivor, and now an advocate in addition to a younger girl who’s educationally pushed, I’ve the chance not solely to share my story on such a big scale but additionally return to highschool.”
Smith has not named the person she recognized as her abuser.
If you’re experiencing home violence, name the Nationwide Home Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is obtainable 24/7 in additional than 170 languages.