Miss America Cassie Donegan defends pageant makeup…
When Cassie Donegan was topped Miss America, she never imagined her victory could be shortly overshadowed by a wave of criticism concentrating on her look.
Several customers online shortly flooded social media with harsh critiques of Donegan’s pageant makeup. They argued that the 28-year-old’s look appeared heavy and harsh under the evident stage lights. Some even claimed runner-up Sadie Schiermeyer, representing Texas, ought to have received instead.
Donegan, who represented New York at the competitors on Sept. 7 in Orlando, Florida, told Fox News Digital she’s not letting the hateful phrases get under her pores and skin.
“The reality is, when something big happens like this, there are going to be many opinions,” she said.
“Everyone has the right to their own opinion, especially in such a public forum like the internet. … Yes, there is that negativity out there, and that is their truth. They are allowed to have that opinion, and I respect that entirely. But I’m surrounded by so much love and so much support and so many people who are holding me up … I’m just not allowing [their negativity] to cloud the really incredible thing that’s happening.”
Donegan identified that she’s more centered on being a position model for youthful women across the nation.
“I’m able to look at these little girls and say, ‘I am not much different than you are right now, and you are so capable of doing anything you want to do,’” she said. “I want them to believe in themselves, because if they don’t, no one else will. Empowerment really comes from within. And if there’s even a small part of me that brings that spark out of them, then I’ve done my part. That will be something I will be grateful to be a part of.”
Several customers online argued that Miss America Cassie Donegan’s pageant makeup appeared heavy and harsh under the evident stage lights. @cassiedonegan/Instagram
Miss America, a glitzy competitors, was born from a 1921 Atlantic City magnificence contest just a 12 months after ladies got the appropriate to vote, the Associated Press reported. Many individuals say the group – a large supplier of scholarship help to younger ladies – has been life-changing, opening doorways for them both personally and professionally.
The group, one of the nation’s most acknowledged manufacturers, awards more than $5 million in money scholarships yearly, plus thousands and thousands more at the national, state and local ranges.
Last 12 months’s Miss America winner, Abbie Stockard of Alabama, topped her successor. Donegan’s win included a $50,000 tuition scholarship, plus an further $3,000 scholarship for her efficiency in the preliminary expertise competitors.
Donegan said surrounding herself with people who “pour positivity into you” is key to combating hateful phrases online.
“I know it’s really hard,” she admitted. “It’s laborious not to open my cellphone and need to go and see what people are saying, but curiosity actually does kill the cat. … I once heard that other people’s opinion of you will not be your business. That is one thing that I’ve actually tried to [live] by. Their opinion of me is legitimate because that is their reality, but it doesn’t imply that it’s my opinion of me.
“[I ask myself], ‘Would they say that to me directly if it wasn’t behind a screen?’ … At the end of the day, if you’re surrounding yourself with positivity and the people who know you, who love you and see you, then the other noise is going to matter a lot less.”
Cassie Donegan represented New York at the competitors on Sept. 7 in Orlando, Florida. Getty Images for for Empire State Realty Trust
The completed singer said she’s developed thick pores and skin over the years.
“I’m from a smaller town. We were a lower-income family,” she said. “We struggled a lot growing up. I dealt with bullying pretty badly. My mom had a lot of health problems. She had her first of multiple strokes when I was only nine years old. Some days, we didn’t even know if certain utilities were going to be on. Some days they weren’t on.”
“That’s not necessarily the background that someone would think of when they look at something as glamorous as the Miss America opportunity from the outside,” Donegan famous. “But if you allow life and your circumstances to control your outcome, then it would potentially keep you from standing in spaces like Miss America.”
Donegan’s win included a $50,000 tuition scholarship, plus an further $3,000 scholarship for her efficiency in the preliminary expertise competitors. Miss America Organization
“I was not in a $10,000 gown,” she continued. “My expertise outfit was given to me and was sponsored. The makeup I used, some of it got here from drugstores. The other half was sponsored by an unimaginable makeup sponsor.
“There is no set of rules that says you have to spend a certain amount of money, or you have to come from a certain background or lifestyle to be Miss America, or to be whatever it is that you want to be. If even one person can understand that and believe that about themselves, that their circumstances do not decide their outcome … then I have been successful in my job this year.”
Donegan said one message she needs to spotlight during her reign is unity during a divided time in our nation.
“I’m the daughter of a veteran of our United States Navy,” she said. “I come from a long line of veterans. My brother is now also in the method of doubtlessly … becoming a member of our army as nicely. I’ve a lot of pleasure in our armed forces right here in the United States.
Donegan says she’s centered on being a position model for youthful women across the nation following her Miss America win. @missamerica/Instagram
Miss America Cassie Donegan visits the Empire State Building on September 17, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images for for Empire State Realty Trust
“I think just seeing that dedication day in and day out to protecting our country and … protecting the things that our country was founded on — being able to have equality for all. Being able to have spaces that are filled with love and kindness. Being able to look at your neighbor and say, ‘Your journey matters just as much as my journey.’”
“Something so wonderful about my job as Miss America is that while I may have my own beliefs or opinions, I do get to create … a safe space,” she mirrored. “It is a space for you to be able to stand and say your truth, live your truth, be your truth, and understand that there is love here, there is a community here. We can have these rooms full of people from different backgrounds, different walks of life and be able to have these really authentic moments of connection and conversation.”
“I think once we’re able to hear each other, understand each other, we can start seeing unity,” Donegan added.
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