Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Cringe! Miss Utah Fumbles On Income Inequality Question

Miss Utah USA Marissa Powell during a commercial break in the 2013 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Ethan Miller
/
Getty Images
Miss Utah USA Marissa Powell during a commercial break in the 2013 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas on Sunday.

We promise to get back to the real news in a bit.

But first: The most cringe-inducing moment in pageant history since Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton fumbled an answer to a question about why many Americans don't know geography.

The most recent incident occurred last night during the Miss USA beauty pageant. Miss Utah USA Marissa Powell was asked: "A recent report shows that in 40 percent of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?"

Powell appeared stumped. Watch:

We'll leave you with Upton's 2007 answer:

Oh yeah, 25-year-old Erin Brady, or Miss Connecticut, was crowned the 2013 Miss USA.

Update at 1:41 p.m. ET. A Defense:

Over at Monkey See, our friend Linda Holmes has a defense — kinda — of Miss Utah USA.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.