The newly crowned Miss Kansas has gone viral for calling out her abuser on the pageant stage.
Alexis Smith, of Butler County, was officially crowned Miss Kansas on June 8, beating out 25 other contestants for the title according to KWCH in Wichita, Kansas, and The Associated Press.
During the interview portion of the contest, which Smith shared on social media, she firmly stated her goal as Miss Kansas would be to “eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships.”
She then made a stunning declaration: “Some of you out in this 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 representing as the next Miss Kansas,” she continued. “I and my community deserve healthy relationships. We deserve a domestic [violence]-free life.”
Respect Reclaimed!
Our time is now for healthy relationships.#MissAmerica #ThereSheIs #Pageants #RespectReclaimed #MissKansas pic.twitter.com/npejBb6CCs
— Alexis Smith, Miss Kansas (@MissAmericaKS) July 16, 2024
In a statement on Instagram and Facebook, the 25-year-old shared a clip of her remarks, writing further about how they connected to her platform of “Respect Reclaimed.”
“On the night of Miss Kansas, my journey took an unexpected turn when someone I have been healing from tried to disrupt my peace,” she wrote. “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.”
“This isn’t about shunning others,” she added. “It’s about turning our pain into purposes and channeling it in a way that unifies and uplifts.”
On July 16, a clip of the on-stage moment was shared on Smith’s official X account, which then went viral. The video has been viewed over 67,000 times on X alone.
Now, Smith, a cardiothoracic ICU nurse, is sharing more of her story.
“My family, every single woman in my family, was impacted by domestic violence,” she told KSN. “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.”
“I took advantage of the Miss Kansas Organization, which truly focuses on empowering women,” she added. “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 has not named the individual she identified as her abuser.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.