Current:Home > ScamsMiss Kansas called out her abuser in public. Her campaign against domestic violence is going viral-LoTradeCoin
Miss Kansas called out her abuser in public. Her campaign against domestic violence is going viral
View Date:2024-12-23 21:42:25
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A newly posted video of Miss Kansas calling out her domestic violence abuser from the stage the night she was crowned is whipping up a maelstrom of support on social media.
Alexis Smith, who works overnight shifts as a cardiothoracic intensive care nurse in Wichita, was crowned Miss Kansas on June 8, but posted the video of her on-stage comments just this past week on the platform now known as X. Her comments are resonating with thousands in part because she called out her own abuser from the stage while she said the perpetrator was sitting in the audience.
The video Smith posted July 16 has been viewed more than 60,000 times and generated a rash of news stories.
“My vision as the next Miss Kansas is to eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships,” Smith said during the interview portion of the pageant last month. “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.”
Smith just recently started her reign and began raising concerns about the issue in interviews and social media posts. Her bold pageant statement against domestic abuse and her courage to speak out is being praised online by dozens of people as her video gets shared again and again.
The beauty queen cares deeply about domestic violence issues because not only was she a victim, but so were many of the other women in her family, she has said.
“My family, every single woman in my family, was impacted by domestic violence,” she said in an interview with Wichita 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.”
Smith said she even moved to Texas for a couple years after she escaped the relationship. She returned to Wichita to study nursing at Newman University.
veryGood! (74)
Related
- A list of mass killings in the United States this year
- Can you gift a stock? How to buy and give shares properly
- Guy Fieri talks Super Bowl party, his son's 'quick engagement' and Bobby Flay's texts
- Why George Clooney Is at a Tactical Disadvantage With His and Amal Clooney's Kids
- 'This dude is cool': 'Cross' star Aldis Hodge brings realism to literary detective
- Kate Cox sought an abortion in Texas. A court said no because she didn’t show her life was in danger
- New York’s high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of US House
- Indian police arrest 4 intruders for breaching security in the Parliament complex
- Larry Hobbs, who guided AP’s coverage of Florida news for decades, has died at 83
- Leaders of Guyana and Venezuela to meet this week as region worries over their territorial dispute
Ranking
- Deion Sanders addresses trash thrown at team during Colorado's big win at Texas Tech
- Former Iowa police officer sentenced to 15 years for exploiting teen in ride-along program
- US Asians and Pacific Islanders view democracy with concern, AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll shows
- South Dakota vanity plate restrictions were unconstitutional, lawsuit settlement says
- In an AP interview, the next Los Angeles DA says he’ll go after low-level nonviolent crimes
- Multiple injuries reported in nighttime missile attack on Ukrainian capital
- $2 trillion worth of counterfeit products are sold each year. Can AI help put a stop to it?
- Why Dakota Johnson Can Easily Sleep 14 Hours a Day
Recommendation
-
Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Team Up for SKIMS Collab With Dolce & Gabbana After Feud
-
Bear! Skier narrowly escapes crashing into bear on Tahoe slope: Watch video
-
Girl dinner, the Roman Empire: A look at TikTok's top videos, creators and trends of 2023
-
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is expected to endorse Nikki Haley
-
Hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field can be fixed for about $55M in time for 2026 season, per report
-
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is expected to endorse Nikki Haley
-
Marvel mania is over: How the comic book super-franchise started to unravel in 2023
-
Man arrested in Washington state after detective made false statements gets $225,000 settlement