Miss Florida Lost Her Crown Because She Used a Professional Stylist

Génesis Dávila had her dream come true when she was crowned Miss Florida 2017 last Saturday, but a week later, she has watched that dream shatter. The 24-year-old beauty queen has been stripped of her title for violating pageant rules — but it’s not as controversial as you might think. This was no titillating scandal involving sex or drugs.

What Dávila did was let a professional makeup artist who was not a part of the pageant do her face in her private room before the show — an advantage the other 64 women did not have, according to Florida’s ABC Local 10 News.

Pageant organizers received multiple complaints from contestants, and there were also eyewitnesses. “We finally had substantial proof to link her and her vendors to her room on an evening which they were not allowed,” said Grant Gravitt, executive producer of the Miss Florida USA pageant.

The truth came to light when the 24-year-old posted a picture to her Instagram of makeup artist Luis Enrique Pina applying her cosmetics, with the caption “Working his magic.”

Gravitt was firm in his stance. “We have a zero-tolerance policy on rules,” he said. “Whether it’s something major or minor, it’s all about keeping an equal and level playing field. Unfortunately, our title holder sought an unfair competitive advantage, and that’s just not acceptable in our system.”

Before the title was reversed, Dávila posted a follow-up photo to her Instagram, where she’s seen lounging on a bed in her golden gown, tiara, and “Miss Florida USA” sash. “Dreaming on a cloud!!!!!” she captioned the shot.

Dávila’s last post on the social media site, on which she still identifies as Miss Florida USA 2017, is a video of the final moment of the competition between herself with then-runner-up Linette De Los Santos — who has since been named the new Miss Florida 2017 by default.

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“I didn’t think it was going to happen, especially like this,” De Los Santos said when she received the title. “I’m just excited to have this opportunity.” De Los Santos’s Instagram account is currently private, but in her bio, she too identifies as the title holder.

Though publicly disgraced, Dávila still has plenty of people in her corner. These include fans, who rushed to the model’s defense on Instagram. “Keep fighting for YOUR CROWN girl! You are the REAL QUEEN,” wrote @sashandcrown. “It is bs that the org is firing u. They are cowards,” insisted @zingostar1986.

Even makeup artist Pina, who was unaware that Dávila had be dethroned when ABC contacted him, fought for the honor of the former Miss World Puerto Rico. “She is elegant and has a beautiful figure and she walks like a panther,” Pina proudly proclaimed. “She has a great future ahead of her.”

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Dávila is fighting too. According to reports, she did not show up to a scheduled meeting to surrender her crown on Friday. Instead, her lawyers arrived to announce that as long as they had anything to do with it, the beauty queen would keep her title. Though Gravitt is holding his ground, Dávila’s attorney, Mayra Joll, vowed, “She’s still a queen. She’s still Miss Florida USA. Justice is going to be served.”

The decision to take the title away from Dávila has far-reaching effects: Since the Miss Florida USA crown is a precursor to a Miss Universe win — which is another dream of Dávila’s — the model would not be qualified to compete. Instead, if pageant officials have their way, De Los Santos will represent Florida in the competition. “I have waited for this for so long,” De Los Santos, who hails from the Dominican Republic, said. “I’ve worked so hard for this.”

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