Miss USA Commentator Carson Kressley Shamed for Holocaust Comment

Miss USA commentator Carson Kressley is being slammed after comparing the pageant to the Holocaust during the event's live telecast on Monday night.

After the top 15 contestants were announced, Kressley noted to fellow commentator Lu Sierra that choosing between the women was "like Sophie's Choice," referencing the 1982 film which saw Meryl Streep's character choose one of her children to be killed by the Nazis.

"They're all so good," Kressley said.

The moment was not lost on viewers, with many taking to social media to denounce Kressley's comment.

One person called the move "terrible and insensitive."

#MissUSA @MissUSA @therealroseanne how terrible and insensitive to compare the Miss USA pageant to Sophie's Choice

— Eliza (@saintanne333) May 22, 2018

"Someone never read the book or saw the movie," wrote a second.

Eeeeek: Carson Kressley on #MissUSA pageant looks at the Top 15 and says "It's a Sophie's Choice!" Someone never read the book or saw the movie.

— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) May 22, 2018

Another offered Kressley a concise version of the film's plot.

Miss USA pageant commentator just said choosing between the 15 finalists was like “Sophie’s choice.”

Just as a reminder, “Sophie’s Choice” is a movie about a woman who was forced to choose which of her two children to save and which was sent to the Auschwitz gas chamber.

— Aaron Earls (@WardrobeDoor) May 22, 2018

During the pageant, Miss Nebraska Sarah Rose Summers was crowned the winner, beating out Miss North Carolina, Caelynn Miller-Keyes (1st runner-up) and Miss Nevada, Carolina Urrea (2nd runner-up).

Summers responded to two questions to secure her win, though she didn't expressly answer the first, which came from fellow contestant Miss Florida, who asked how living in a single parent household affects our generation's views on marriage and family.

"I am so grateful to have grown up in a home with two parents. Hi, parents out there," Summers replied. "And so I can't personally relate to this. However, I do work in children's hospitals as a certified child life specialist where I'm a liaison between the children and families and the medical team. And I've seen single mothers at the bedside working remotely on their computers to stay by their children and support them, and I think that it just shows that children, no matter if it's a boy or a girl, that they can do that."

The second question was given to all three finalists and asked them what they would write on a sign were they heading to a march.

"I say, 'Speak your voice,'" Summers responded. "I don't know what march we're on our way to in this hypothetical situation, but no matter where you're going, whatever type of march it is, you're obviously on your way to that march because you care about that cause. So go speak to people. When they have questions, communicate to them. Listen to their views also. That is one thing in the United States that we really need to focus on, is listening to each other."

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