A 19-year-old pageant winner who was stripped of her title for adhering to her biblical beliefs on gender and sexuality is now being recognized by Congress as "a modern-day Esther" for standing up for her convictions.

Kayleigh Bush was crowned as the Miss North Florida 2025 pageant winner in August 2024, but was denied the official title months later because she objected to an unbiblical definition of "female" presented in the Miss America contract.

According to the non-profit legal group Liberty Counsel , the Miss America Organization (MAO) revised the contract language after Bush won the title.

"Ultimately, the contract requires female beauty candidates to agree to compete against biological males – who have been subjected to medical mutilation as minor boys – and agree that these m

See Full Page