Miss Rhode Island, Olivia Culpo, has been named this year's Miss USA. Culpo is a 20-year-old student at Boston University and will go on to represent the U.S. in the Miss Universe pageant in December, according to foxnews.com.
Culpo reportedly caught the judges attention of the competition on Sunday by speaking up in support of transgender women's rights to participate in pageants. Judge Rob Kardashian asked Culpo is she thought it would be fair if a transgender woman won the Miss USA pageant, to which she replied:
"I do think that that would be fair, but I can understand that people would be a little apprehensive to take that road because there is a tradition of natural-born women," Culpo said. "But today where there are so many surgeries and so many people out there who have a need to change for a happier life, I do accept that because I believe it's a free country."
Culpo will take a one-year leave of absence from her studies to serve as Miss USA.
by RTT Staff Writer
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