Miss Kansas Calls Out Her Abuser From the Stage

Miss Kansas Courageously Calls Out Her Abuser on Public Stage, Launches Fight Against Domestic Violence

By Regina Sienra on July 26, 2024

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Una publicación compartida por Miss Kansas (@missamericaks)

Beauty pageant contestants are often trained to give acute, graceful answers to the hosts' questions, reinforcing the poise they aim to convey. That's why when Alexis Smith, who was recently crowned Miss Kansas, spoke her truth, her message resonated with many people. After noticing her domestic violence abuser was in the audience, Smith called him out from the stage.

During the interview portion of the pageant, Smith was asked about her vision as the next Miss Kansas. “My vision as the next Miss Kansas is to eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships,” Smith replied, addressing how she had felt throughout the evening. “Matter of fact, some of you 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 from representing as the next Miss Kansas.”

Speaking to Good Morning America about that night, Smith said, “On the night of Miss Kansas, my journey took an unexpected turn when someone I have been healing from tried to disrupt my peace. 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, who works as a cardiothoracic intensive care nurse in Wichita, also shared that she had moved to Texas for a couple of years to escape from the abusive relationship. “My family, every single woman in my family, was impacted by domestic violence,” she told local television station 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.”

Empowered by her win, she has now launched a community service initiative called Respect Reclaimed: Advocating for Healthy Relationships to encourage others to find support. “To everyone watching that has experienced domestic violence, you are strong, this is not your fault, and you have the ability to take the lead,” she says.

Smith will compete as Miss Kansas in the Miss America pageant in January 2025. In the meantime, you can follow Smith on Instagram to stay up to date with her Respect Reclaimed program and her ventures as Miss Kansas.