Miss Jamaica Celebrates Being 'the First Afro Queen to Make It Thus Far' in Miss Universe Pageant
The 2017 Miss Universe pageant host Steve Harvey correctly announced the winner’s name without any confusion (unlike in 2015). But if you were to go on social media during last night’s show, you would have thought Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett took home the crown because Twitter was going wild for her.
The 23-year-old contestant embraced her natural hair, wearing an afro hairstyle during the competition and the social media response was overwhelming. Fans gave the second runner-up an outpouring of love and even started the hashtag, “#MissJamaicaShouldHaveWon.”
“I did not win but I got what I was seeking,” Bennett wrote on Instagram. “I won the hearts of many, I got to highlight Deaf awareness, I stand as the first afro queen to have made it thus far, I represented my little island and I received allll the love one could possibly wish for…. THANK YOU!!! I came, I conquered and if you know me, then you know that’s just another story and you will be seeing a lot more from me💃😉👑 To all the queens that represented, congrats and to our new Miss Universe @demileighnp go conquer the world you are indeed a gem!😍😙”
From the time she stepped on stage, viewers were applauding her choice to wear her natural hair. And we gathered a few of our favorite reactions, below.
New hashtag alert #MissJamaicaShouldHaveWon pic.twitter.com/JHrCSKPB87
— Keelz (@Keely101) November 27, 2017
Me arriving in the #MissJamaicaShouldHaveWon tag pic.twitter.com/kRaIzTy2Un
— katy kringle ?? threads (@katyxoxo00) November 27, 2017
#MissJamaica's hair is giving me life. Representation is everything man. ????#MissUniverse2017 pic.twitter.com/qAYZT2m2zL
— Marsha (@kennymapart) November 27, 2017
#MissJamaica, ???????? @davina_bennett_, is currently SHINING? on stage tonight at the #MissUniverse pageant! That Fro Though! ????????????????? #Top10 #naturalbeauty #naturalhair pic.twitter.com/Kjq2qqAzev
— Carol's Daughter (@carolsdaughter) November 27, 2017
Miss South Africa Has Been Crowned Miss Universe 2017
The 2017 Miss Universe pageant was full of contestants with inspiring stories. In addition to Bennett’s empowering move, the winner, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters from South Africa, teaches self-defense after being held at gunpoint one month after winning the Miss South Africa pageant.
