The annual Miss USA pageant was broadcast live on TV Sunday — and captured a cringe-worthy moment during one contestant’s response in the question-and-answer session.
As one of the pageant judges, reality star NeNe Leakes asked Miss Utah’s Marissa Powell about women and the workforce: “A recent report shows that in 40 percent of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?”
After a quick pause, the 21-year-old beauty answered:
“I think we can relate this back to education, and how we are continuing to try to strive … to … figure out how to create jobs right now. That is the biggest problem right now.”
She doesn’t stop there.
“I think, especially the men are … um … seen as the leaders of this, and so we need to see how to … create education better. So that we can solve this problem. Thank you.”
Yet despite her botched response, the Salt Lake City native still managed to land third place. Miss Connecticut’s 25-year-old Erin Brady took home the crown of this year’s Miss USA.
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