miss america

Miss Michigan Calls Out State for Flint Water Crisis in Her Miss America Intro

Emily Sioma.
Emily Sioma. Photo: ABC

Getting rid of the swimsuit competition isn’t the only way this year’s Miss America pageant is mixing things up. Right off the bat, Miss Michigan Emily Sioma used her self-introduction, typically used to name-check educational or personal credentials, to call out her state for its failure to provide all of its residents with fresh water — as exemplified by the Flint water crisis — despite sitting directly next to the Great Lakes.

Said the contestant, “From a state with 84 percent of the U.S. fresh water, but none for its residents to drink, I’m Miss Michigan Emily Sioma.” Hey, if America’s changing, it only stands to reason that its Misses will too.

Miss Michigan Calls Out Water Crisis in Miss America Intro