Olivia Culpo, 20, answered one of the toughest questions of the night, about transgender pageant contestants. Culpo is a sophomore at Boston University, where she has made the dean’s list each semester of her academic career so far. Culpo was Miss Rhode Island. Culpo was crowned this year’s Miss USA over the weekend. When asked if transgender contestants should be permitted to compete in pageants and win them, she responded with, “I do think that that would be fair, but I can understand that people would be a little apprehensive to take that road because there is a tradition of natural-born women, but today where there are so many surgeries and so many people out there who have a need to change for a happier life, I do accept that because I believe it’s a free country.”
(AP / Julie Jacobson)
In the video you can watch Miss Rhode Island and the other members of the top five answer their difficult questions. The top five consisted of the following contestants:
1. Miss Rhode Island
2. Miss Maryland
3. Miss Ohio
4. Miss Nevada
5. Miss Georgia
(AP / Julie Jacobson)
Olivia’s bio says she “began studying the cello and went on to participate in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, RI Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, Bay View Orchestra and Rhode Island All-State Orchestra. As a cellist, Olivia won a seat in the Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and a tour of England in 2010.”