Jordan, 26, an actress and graduate of Boston University, won the 64th pageant after deftly answering a question about the nation’s next hot-button issue. Other finalists stumbled while answering similarly topical questions from the judges, who were all past pageant winners such as Miss Universe and Miss USA.
“We still need to talk about race relations in the country, we have not solved this issue,” Jordan said. “We really need to work on being an accepting society.”
The other finalists came from Rhode Island, Maryland and Nevada, with Texas’ Ylianna Guerra winning first runner-up.
Several of the top 15 finishers spoke of their Latin American heritage, including Rhode Island’s Anea Garcia, who was raised by her grandmother, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. Garcia came in third among 51 contestants.
One segment focused specifically on contestants’ multi- cultural backgrounds, with the women speaking in taped segments about being bi-racial or coming from immigrant families.
Among the few indirect or veiled references to Trump’s remarks, Miss USA 2013 Erin Brady said during a live interview that she was happy to be on hand cheering the contestants on, “especially given the chaos of the past two weeks.”
Game show host Todd Newton and former Miss USA Alex Wehrley shared hosting duties after MSNBC newsman Thomas Roberts and “Dancing With the Stars” host Cheryl Burke dropped out.
Hinting at the controversy, Newton referred at the show’s outset to “what has become the most anticipated and what will be the most exciting night in recent pageant history.”
Jordan will represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant.
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