Former Miss USA Elle Smith defends R'Bonney Gabriel, shares own experience
Miss USA 2021 Elle Smith of Kentucky went to social media to defend her successor R'Bonney Gabriel of Texas whom she crowned on Monday, October 3 in Reno, Nevada.
"Right now, all I feel is concern and pity for R'Bonney," she said amid the viral allegations attacking the Miss USA Organization.
"I understand how isolating it is to win Miss USA and I also understand what it is like to have your class try and discredit your win, and say that they are attacking the organization and not you," she added.
Elle then went on to share her own similar experience with her fellow competitors after winning last year.
"Last year, my class attempted to say that the organization favored me and they came up with all these different claims, I then debunked all their claims to prove them wrong, this class [2022] is doing the same exact thing to R'Bonney," she said.
She continued, "There's not one person in the pageant world and not one person in that class who did not realize that R'Bonney was the clear frontrunner for the Miss USA title from the moment that she won Texas."
"Not saying she was the clear winner, she was the frontrunner, it was hers to lose and she needed to perform at Miss USA, and she did exactly that y'all," she emphasized and then went on to debunk some of the allegations.
The former Miss USA, who placed in the Top 10 at Miss Universe 2021, also called out this year's contestants for the attitudes shown toward the winner.
"I understand there are going to be frustrations about losing a pageant that you worked diligently for y'all, I understand that ... but the fact that you y'all did not congratulate her after winning Miss USA, walked off the stage, took her out of the GroupMe, that poor girl right now is going through it," she said.
Elle also stressed the impact this whole thing might have on R'Bonney's mental health and said, "If you have concerns about the organization, reach out to the organization directly, reach out to Paula, reach out to Crystle, but this whole social media bashing ... people under my comments calling me a fraud because they think I'm R'Bonney, and just imagine how she feels, and I'm not even involved right now."
Photo: Andrew Kung / Elle Smith / Instagram
