The current Miss USA, Sarah Rose Summers, is facing backlash after comments she made about fellow Miss Universe contestants regarding their English-speaking skills.
Footage from a video now circulating online shows Summers discussing Miss Cambodia Rern Sinat and Miss Vietnam H’Hen Nie during a conversation with two other Miss Universe contestants.
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The clip is reportedly originally from an Instagram Live on Miss Colombia Valeria Morales’ account, and Morales and Miss Australia Francesca Hung were also present for the conversation with Summers.
“What do you think of Miss Vietnam Nie?” Summers asked, reading a fan question presented to the group.
After the other women complimented Nie’s style, Summers said, “She’s so cute and she pretends to know so much English and then you ask her a question after having a whole conversation with her and she goes [nods and smiles].”
“She’s adorable,” she added, doing the impression again when Morales asked, “How?”
Later in the clip, Summers referenced Sinat, saying, “Miss Cambodia is here and doesn’t speak any English and not a single other person speaks her language. Can you imagine?”
“Francesca said that would be so isolating and I said yes and just confusing all the time,” she added before telling Morales, “You do speak great English,” before noting that Morales also speaks Spanish.
After Morales interjected that Miss Brazil Mayra Dias does not speak English, Summers responded that there are other women at the pageant who speak Portugese.
“Poor Cambodia,” she said, with the other women adding that it would be “really hard” to be in Sinat’s situation.
Commenters on the video quickly slammed Summers for her words.
“Not something that a Miss USA should be saying specially when you’re representing our great country on a national platform,” one person wrote. “Also not everything is about speaking proper English!”
“Is not only what she said, is the condescending tone that really irritated many of us,” another opined. “God keep blessing her heart, because she felt she didn’t say anything bad for her to apologize.”
Others were displeased with Morales and Hung as well.
“These 3 are immature ladies and they are not worthy of representing Miss Universe crowd,” one wrote.
“This is just a shameful display of meanness poorly masked as empathy,” another user commented. “Clearly none of these women embody what being Miss Universe is all about…and in this day and age?”
There were also a handful of comments supporting Summers.
“I don’t think she meant to be derogatory — I think people are blowing it out of proportion,” one read.
The women are currently in Thailand preparing for the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, which brings together national title winners from around the world.
The Miss Universe pageant will air on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. ET on Fox.
Photo Credit: Instagram / @sarahrosesummers
