*Following 23-year-old Sara Milliken’s crowning as Miss Alabama at the National American Miss pageant, social media users criticized her appearance, citing her weight.
According to News 5, Milliken’s quest to be named Miss Alabama began eight years ago. She competed twice but did not place. Her dream finally came true in May, and has since had to clap back at body-shammers.
“It’s important to address the part of the story that didn’t air,” Sara said during a special on Alabama’s CBS affiliate, WKRG in a June 6 Instagram post. “When they first published the behind the scenes photo from this day, it received over 2,000 comments and was viewed over a million times.”
The makeup artist added, “The things some people were saying truly was disgusting. I choose not to dwell on that. However, there is an important [lesson] to be had and I feel that as a titleholder it would be extremely irresponsible for me not to address the ‘second part’ of this story.”
Beauty competition enthusiasts are cyber-bullying Milliken, critical of her victory because she’s plus-size.
23-year-old Sara Milliken has been crowned Miss Alabama at the National American Miss pageant. pic.twitter.com/rABjaiOKDt
— BoreCure (@CureBore) June 6, 2024
On X/formally Twitter, “All those beautiful women in the pageant with her have to be thinking WITH.”
Another person wrote, “No disrespect to Sara Milliken, she might be a beautiful person inside, but this is a beauty pageant and part of that is looking and being healthy…and she is neither. The integrity of beauty pageants has hit an all time low and it pretty much in the toilet !”
A third added, “I don’t think we should normalize obesity.”
“Calling her beautiful is fine and good that’s all in the eye of the beholder,” Scott Eckles wrote on Facebook, per News5. “But let’s be honest with ourselves.. she’s extremely unhealthy and this is a slap in the face to the young girls who have worked hard and maintained a diet to actually be a beauty queen.
“This is an embarrassment to the state of Alabama.”
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A post shared by Sara Milliken (@thenamalmiss)
The National American Miss pageant’s website states that it aims to foster a “positive self-image by enhancing the natural beauty within.”
“No matter what your body looks like, no matter where you come from, you can do anything you set your mind to,” Milliken said in a recent WKRG interview.
“I feel often times people resort to Cyberbullying because it doesn’t feel real,” she explained. “It’s just words on a screen right? It can’t possibly cause physical harm? Wrong.”
She added, “Hurt people hurt people.”
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