Megyn Kelly criticizes Miss America competition: 'What's wrong with the bathing suits?'
Megyn Kelly wants the Miss America swimsuit competition reinstated, and she wants it reinstated now.
The NBC talk show host had a lot to say on her show Monday about the organization doing away with its traditional swimsuit competition, questioning whether Miss America's leadership would be able to survive the backlash for the controversial decision. "The reality is, no one is going to want to watch the pageant [without the swimsuit portion]," Kelly said.
Zerlina Maxwell, a guest panelist for the segment, staunchly disagreed with her host, arguing that doing away with pageants altogether may be the best option. Beauty pageants are "antiquated," Maxwell said, and people should be more concerned with what's inside women's "brains, not whether or not they have abs."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kelly agreed that a woman's character is important, but argued that one's conduct and one's beauty need not be "mutually exclusive." She added that she finds it inspirational to see fit women, and disagreed that the swimsuit portion of the competition is mere objectification "if the woman wants it." When Maxwell pointed out that no one's obituary lauds their "great abs," Kelly joked, "I hope mine does!"
In June, the Miss America Organization announced it would eliminate the swimsuit competition for the first time in its 96-year history. Miss America chairwoman and Kelly's former Fox News colleague Gretchen Carlson spearheaded the initiative, saying that in order to move forward with our current "cultural revolution," the competition must step away from its origins as a swimsuit pageant to focus on the talent and interview portions.
Watch the discussion on Kelly's show below. Amari Pollard
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Amari Pollard is the social media editor at The Week and has written for Reader's Digest, Parents, and Inside Lacrosse. She studied journalism at Le Moyne College and can usually be found exploring Brooklyn, thrift shopping, or spending way too much money on brunch.
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
How the Russia-Ukraine conflict has spread to Africa
The Explainer Ukraine is attempting to strengthen its alliances on the continent to counter Russia's growing presence
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published