Critical Beauty

  Elle Smith , Miss Kentucky USA 2021, was named Miss USA 2021 on Monday night at the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Smith, 23, is a reporter for WHAS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Louisville. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in May 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in political science.  As Miss USA, Smith will move on to compete in the 2021 Miss Universe pageant on Dec. 12 in Eilat, Israel. At Monday’s pageant, which was televised by the A&E Network’s FYI channel, Smith was crowned by Miss USA 2020, Asya Branch. Smith bested 50 other contestants. Miss North Dakota USA, Caitlyn Vogel, was the runner-up at the pageant on Monday. Miss Florida USA, Ashley Bareto, came in third. Miss Illinois USA, Sydni Bennett, took fourth place. Smith begins a yearlong reign as Miss USA, with Los Angeles as her base. “For the duration of her reign, she will be engaged in red carpet experiences, networking opportunities, professional photo shoo

  This group chat was conducted via Zoom on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at 9:00 PM EST. My guests include Peter Sereno, Brian Rivera, Vagisha Mishra, Phil Pugeda and Ko Phanasa. We discuss the contestants and the happenings at Miss Grand International 2021, and we select our top 20, top10, and top 5 favorites for the crown. Click the banner to go to the link.

  The new Miss Teen USA is Breanna Myles , 18, from Florida who was crowned November 27  at River Spirit Casino Report in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 1st runner-up - Hannah Gilliard - District of Columbia 2nd runner-up - Landry Davis - Texas 3rd runner-up - Yvonne Burke - Pennsylvania 4th runner-up - Ayzjiahna Wood - Utah Completing the Top 16 semi-finalists were the representatives of California, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The new Miss Teen USA was born in Kentucky to a Dominican mother and African-American father and moved to Florida at age seven. She was raised in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and graduated from high school in 2021, with a dual enrollment associate degree from Indian River State College. Prior to becoming Miss Teen USA, Breanna was attending Florida State University and studying computer science and musical theatre, with career aspirations of becoming a software engineer. Source: https://www.pageantci

Newly crowned Miss South Africa (Miss SA) Lalela Mswane is set on attending the 70th Miss Universe competition in Israel. This despite mounting pressure from politicians and citizens calling on her, and other beauty queens, to boycott the pageant. The South African government publicly  withdrew its support  for the Miss South Africa pageant earlier in November. In a statement in November Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa said Miss SA’s decision lacked “appreciation of the potential negative impact of such a decision on the reputation and future of a young black woman”. “The atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented and government, as the legitimate representative of the people of South Africa, cannot in good conscience associate itself with such,” said Mthethwa. Both Lalela and The  Miss SA organisation  have been refusing to buckle under the pressure, with the organisation continuing to show their support for Lalela to attend the Miss Un

  Destiny Wagner of Belize was crowned Miss Earth 2021, giving her country its first beauty title. Wagner, 25, a graduate of Business Administration, manages her own business and the non-profit organization "Operation Kingdom" dedicated to combating child hunger and fighting for equal education. Her advocacies are sustainability of marine life and the promotion of children's rights. The Philippines' representative Naelah Alshorbaji made it until the semi-finals or the Top8. Miss USA Marisa Butler bagged the Miss Earth-Air title, while Chile's Romina Denecken was proclaimed Miss Earth-Water. The Miss Earth-Fire title went to Baitong Petsom of Thailand. Completing the Top 8 were the delegates from the Netherlands, Russia, and Venezuela, and rounding off the Top 20 were the delegates from Belarus, Belgium, Botswana, Colombia (who was also named Voter's Choice), Czech Republic, Denmark, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, and South Africa. This year&

  ANDREA MEZA, MISS UNIVERSE 2020, The Associated Press The reigning Miss Universe says the long-running beauty pageant being held in Israel next month shouldn’t be politicized JERUSALEM -- The reigning Miss Universe said Wednesday the long-running beauty pageant shouldn't be politicized, even though its next edition is being held in Israel amid pressure on contestants to drop out in solidarity with the Palestinians. The 70th Miss Universe pageant is being staged in the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat in December. Dozens of contestants from around the world will arrive there in the coming weeks to compete in national costumes, evening gowns and swimwear. They'll also have their public speaking prowess tested with a series of interview questions. But the pageant is in the spotlight for being held in Israel amid boycott calls against the country over its treatment of the Palestinians. At least one country has already called off their participation. “Everyone with different

  Miss Earth 2020 Lindsey Coffey’s reign will end on November 21 when she crowns her successor. Lindsey has been an amazing Miss Earth and she will be greatly missed. I had the privilege of chatting with her early today and this chat was no different from the first chat we had a few weeks before she was crowned Miss Earth. Lindsey was down-to-earth and relatable then as she is today. Very rare are queens who take their platform seriously and to another level as Lindsey has done in 2021.

  Valentina Espinosa Guzmán , representing the state of Bolívar, was crowned Señorita Colombia 2021 on November 15.  The 23-year-old journalist and model will represent Colombia in the next edition of Miss Supranational. The "Virreina" or Vice-Queen is Miss Quindío, Natalia López Cardona, a 22-year-old law student. First runner-up was Miss Huila, Karen Ortiz Díaz; the second runner-up was Miss Chocó, Lucía Cuesta, and the third runner-up was Miss Sucre, Yamile Dajud. Source: Colombia.com, 11/15/2021

Three days ago, Fatima Zahra Khayat was crowned Miss Universe Morocco 2021. But today it was announced that she had an accident that required putting a brace around her lower right leg. She had to relinquish her crown to her first runner-up, Kawtar Benhalima .  Kawtar is 22, hails from Marrakech, and has a degree in business administration. The director of Miss Universe Morocco, Saad Bennani , did not elaborate on the details of the accident. On the official Instagram account of Miss Universe Morocco, the following note was posted: "We are really sad to announce that  @fzius  will be renouncing her title as Miss Universe Morocco by medical dispensation due to an accident and her disability to represent the country in optimal conditions in the coming weeks."   Photo credits: SNRTNEWS.COM

Teresa Santos , 23, representing the state of Ceará, was crowned Miss Universo Brasil 2021. The competition was filmed on November 7, 2021 on board the MSC Preziosa, a cruise ship, and aired on November 9. But in order to preserve the secrecy of the results before its airdate, crowning moments for all three finalists were filmed, while only the one of the winner was aired. Santos, a psychology student, model and businesswoman will now represent Brazil at the 70th edition of the Miss Universe competition on December 12 in Eilat, Israel. The 2020 titleholder Julia Gama was not invited to crown her successor due to a dispute with the pageant organizer. Piauí’s Gabriela Lacerda and Sergipe’s Carol Valença placed first and second runners-up, respectively. I honestly hate this type of twist in any pageant. Why put the audience and the contestants in suspense for two days before the actual winner is announced?  This was Santos's second attempt to win the crown (the first was in 2018 when

  Fatima-Zahra Khayat,  a 26-year-old financial auditor living in Paris, was crowned Saturday night by Miss Universe Spain 2021 Sarah Loinaz. Fourteen young women competed in the revival of pageant. The last time Morocco competed in Miss Universe was 43 years ago in 1978 with Majida Tazi.

  Maureen Montagne of the Philippines has just been crowned The Miss Globe 2021 in Albania. Mabuhay! The 28-year-old Filipina bested over 45 contestants to win the crown. Her court includes: 1st RP - Nigeria - Esther Ogechi Gabriel 2nd RP - Turkey - Melike Bali 3rd RP - Venezuela - Jhosskaren Carrizo Orozco 4th RP - Canada - Hailey Hamelin-Wilson 👉🏽I think Philippines had already been selected as the winner before the pageant even began. Immediately after the top 5 Q & A, the male judge came up on stage and read the results from the cards that the host was handing to him. There was NO deliberation of the judges. Just sayin’. Nevertheless, Maureen deserves the crown. 👸🏼 This is the third International crown that the Philippines has won within five weeks. On October 3, Alexandra Faith Garcia won Miss Aura International 2021 in Turkey, followed by Cinderella Obeñita winning Miss Intercontinental 2021 in Egypt on October 29.

  Watch my recap and review of Miss Universe Thailand 2021. Click the banner to go to the link.

  The Critical Beauty Gang selects its early favorites for Miss Universe 2021 pageant which takes place in Eilat, Israel on December 12. Click the banner to go to the link.

  The Critical Beauty Gang selects its early favorites for Miss Grand International 2021 pageant which takes place on December 4 in Phuket, Thailand. The pageant's headquarters is based in Thailand. Click banner to go to the link.