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Who is Kataluna Enriquez? Outrage after Trans Miss Nevada USA contestant eliminated early

Miss Nevada Kataluna Enriquez failed to make it to the round of 16 at the pageant

Kataluna Enriquez, the first openly transgender Miss USA contestant, failed to even make it to the round of 16 of the pageant, provoking outrage on social media. Elle Smith, a reporter for Louisville, Kentucky-based television station WHAS, was named winner of the pageant. The station tweeted, "This is quite the feat!! Our Elle Smith is your new MISS USA!"

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Enriquez, 27, had been honored as a champion in her home state of Nevada earlier in the day. "Kataluna represents the best of her community and our state and when she takes the stage, she'll make history!" Governor Steve Sisolak tweeted on Monday night.

Enriquez won Miss Nevada in her adopted homeland of Las Vegas in June, defeating 21 other participants at the South Point Hotel Casino.

That led to her participating at the Miss USA pageant at the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Monday. Smith, the night's winner, will compete in the Miss Universe contest in Eilat, Israel, next month.

Senator Jacky Rosen from Nevada too had hailed Kataluna, "Best of luck to Miss Nevada, Kataluna Enriquez, as she competes for the Miss USA title this evening! Kataluna is making history as the first openly transgender woman to compete in Miss USA, and I couldn't think of anyone better to represent the Silver State."

Social media showed their concern over the result. One user said, "Kataluna Enriquez failed to penetrate the Top 16 of Miss USA 2021… She still made history by being the first Trans woman to ever compete in the Miss USA pageant. We are so proud of you, Queen."

Another said, "Miss USA is not ready to crown a transwoman of color, that's it. If they allowed Kataluna Enriquez, Miss Nevada 2021, to make it to Top 16, she would have nailed every segment including that new casual interview round and be one of the last woman standing. #MissUSA2021"

"I’m so heartbroken for #katalunaenriquez This is just the beginning of trans women in pageantry, and I thank women like Kataluna and Angela Ponce for all they do," added another.

In 2012, the Miss Universe pageant system, which includes Miss USA, began accepting transgender contestants. Angela Ponce of Spain was the first transgender candidate at the worldwide pageant in 2018.

Following opposition to racist remarks about Mexican immigrants made during the commencement of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump sold the US contest to a Hollywood talent agency in 2015. Miss USA's current campaign motto is "Pageantry Reimagined." Enriquez, a Filipina-American, claims to create her own pageant attire.

She opened up about being trans after winning a preliminary pageant in Nevada in March. “Today I am a proud transgender woman of color. Personally, I’ve learned that my differences do not make me less than, it makes me more than,” she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I know that my uniqueness will take me to all my destinations, and whatever I need to go through in life,” she added.