The recently crowned Miss Kansas has gone viral across social media in recent days for a video of a moment during the pageant when she opened up about being a domestic violence survivor and said her alleged abuser was at the show.
Alexis Smith, who serves as a cardiothoracic intensive care nurse during overnight shifts in Wichita, garnered national attention when she publicly addressed her personal battle with domestic abuse on the night of her crowning on June 8. Although she made the remarks last month, her message ignited viral social media attention after she posted the video on July 16 on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The video, which has since garnered over 65,000 views, shows Smith during the interview segment of the Miss Kansas pageant discussing her history with domestic violence. She also noted that her alleged abuser was present in the audience.
Newsweek reached out to the Miss Kansas Organization on Monday via email for comment.
When asked during the pageant interview what her vision will be as the next brand ambassador for the Miss Kansas Organization, Smith spoke of doing work related to preventing abusive relationships.
“My vision as the next Miss Kansas is to eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships,” Smith said. “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, because I and my community deserve healthy relationships. We deserve a domestic [violence] free life.”
According to the Associated Press (AP), Smith she has already taken to social media and given public interviews to raise concerns about domestic violence since winning the title of Miss Kansas.
In addition, she has also been met with widespread praise for speaking out with her public platform.
In interviews, Smith has shared that her passion for combating domestic violence stems from personal experience and a history of abuse within her family.
“Every single woman in my family was impacted by domestic violence,” she told Wichita’s KSN television station last week.
Smith told the station that she entered an abusive relationship at just 14 years old, which she said lasted until 2019.
“It’s something that I’m still experiencing and dealing with today,” she said, per KSN.
The identify of the alleged abuser Smith mentioned while on stage is not known, and it’s not clear if Smith has filed any police reports related to domestic abuse.
According to the Domestic Violence Hotline, an average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States with intimate partner violence alone affecting more than 12 million people every year.
Newsweek reached out to the Domestic Violence Hotline on Monday via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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