14 DAY TRIAL // The beauty pageant Miss Universe is rarely a controversial event, but the 2015 edition fully compensated for all those years when nothing out of the ordinary happened: Miss Colombia Paulina Vega was named Miss Universe 2015, but many people online reacted to say that Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell should have left with the tiara on her head.
Kaci stood out from the early days of the competition because of her attitude, her intelligence, her poise, and last but not least the fact that she was the only beauty queen to rock a short hairdo.
“She was robbed”
That was the reaction of many people when Kaci’s name was called out as fourth in rank in the competition.
Loud booing was heard in the venue in Miami where the pageant was taking place on Sunday, and it continued for some time after the name of the second runner-up was called too, proving that, indeed, people there didn’t think that Kaci should have been eliminated from the top 3.
On Twitter and Facebook, people watching at home agreed: Kaci should have made it into the top 3 at the very least, if not actually won the Miss Universe title. She was different than other beauty queens and she was relatable, so she could have been the change that this pageant needed so badly.
Unfortunately, the same voices agreed, it was this very thing, the fact that she was so different, that probably got the judges to rule her out of the top 3. Still, she’d been robbed of her well-deserved title, they said.
It’s ok, the experience was worth it
E! News caught up with Fennell on her way to Jamaica, and she spoke a bit about the Miss Universe controversy. She couldn’t have imagined getting the kind of support she did online, because she personally didn’t think there was anything wrong with coming out on the fourth spot.
She’s proud she made it into the top 5, she says – and she’s happy for the experience the beauty pageant provided her with.
“It was such an amazing feeling,” Kaci adds. “I believe it went exactly how it should. I'm so happy I had this opportunity. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. It's only up from here… but I'm still focused on my studies. I do want to be a teacher, that's my passion! I love kids! I also want to be a chef.”
Kaci also has big plans about inspiring other women to be more accepting of themselves, to learn to discover that which makes them special and to embrace it, no matter their size, shape, age or color of their skin. As she said during the pageant, she believes confidence is beautiful.