First Miss USA transgender contestant, Kataluna Enriquez, was eliminated in the early round of the contest and said “they were just not ready.”
“I was shocked,” the 28-year-old trans beauty contestant told Yahoo.com in a piece published Thursday. Kataluna made it into the beauty pageant after winning the Miss Nevada contest earlier this year. (RELATED: Miss District Of Columbia Wins Miss USA 2016)
“But I was more disappointed because I worked so hard for it,” Kataluna added. “I think they were just not ready.” (RELATED: This Contestant Had A Powerful Answer When Asked About Women Serving In The Military)
From Nevada to @MissUSA! Good luck tonight #KatalunaEnriquez. We love you! pic.twitter.com/1kHFc1wVeN
— Vegas (@Vegas) November 30, 2021
Despite the early elimination, the transgender contestant said it was an “honor” to be able to compete in the Miss USA pageant.
“It was an honor just to be able to represent my community and be an example for young queer children who now know they don’t need to be limited by society’s standards,” Enriquez explained.
Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling right now. Watching Kataluna Enriquez not only make history as the 1st trans woman to walk across the Miss USA stage but doing so while visiblizing the violence against #girlslikeus has moved me to tears. pic.twitter.com/bhXcXkqzki
— JOANNA CIFREDO (@JoannaCifredo) November 27, 2021
Miss Kentucky, Elle Smith, ended up taking home the crown this year and will represent USA in the Miss Universe competition in December being held in Israel, the outlet noted.
Kataluna had only been on the pageant circuit for a year after competing in cisgender pageants. In March, the contestant was crowned Miss Silver State USA.