Newly crowned Miss USA celebrates pageant’s first trans competitor: ‘It was an honor to take the stage with her’

Miss USA Elle Smith is praising the historic run of a fellow competitor, Miss Nevada Kataluna Enriquez, the pageant’s first openly trans contestant.

Smith, a multimedia journalist who works for the Louisville ABC affiliate WHAS, is the second Miss Kentucky to win the title. She was crowned the new Miss USA Monday night in Tulsa, Okla.

“This is quite the accomplishment!!” the station tweeted after the win. “Our Elle Smith is your new MISS USA!”

Another equally impressive — and historic — moment of the night happened even before the ceremony began.

Miss Nevada, who was eliminated early on, during the round of 16, broke new ground just by being on the stage, an achievement that didn’t go unnoticed.

“Kataluna is an absolute gem, and it was an honor to take the stage with her,” Smith told Insider just hours after she was crowned. “I see her as a trans woman, but I see her as a woman.”

“She had every right to be on that stage. She was a competitor. She’s one of the most amazing people you’ll ever meet,” Smith said.

“I think, for her, it was another example of important representation, and I was so proud to take the stage with her,” Miss USA added.

According to Enriquez’s bio on the Miss Silver State Instagram page, the 26-year-old Filipino-American is “a survivor of physical and sexual abuse and a proud transwoman of color [who] aims to break barriers and represent those who aren’t always represented and continues to support numerous non-profit organizations and LGBTQ+ youth.”

“At a young age, Kataluna fought multiple challenges in her life,” the bio reads. “Now she uses her life experiences and shares it in her platform #BEVISIBLE, a campaign to combat hate through vulnerability.”

In June, the healthcare administrator and fashion designer beat out 21 other contestants to be crowned Miss Nevada USA.