In this viral video, Miss Kansas calls out her abuser who showed up at her competition

Alexis Smith won this year’s Miss Kansas crown on a platform of promoting healthy relationships and ending abusive ones.

When her own abuser decided to show up last month on the night of the competition, she handled it with grace, using it as a moment to inspire fellow survivors.

After being chosen from 26 competitors to represent the Sunflower State in next January’s Miss America competition, Smith was asked to speak from the stage about her Respect Reclaimed vision.

“My vision as the next Miss Kansas is to eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships,” Smith said in a video she recently shared on her social media pages. “Matter of fact, some of you out in this audience saw me very emotional because my abuser is here today. But that’s not going to stop me from being on this Miss Kansas stage and from representing as the next Miss Kansas. Because I, and my community, deserve healthy relationships. We deserve a domestic (violence) free life.”

By the time she finished, the audience was applauding uproariously. As of Thursday afternoon, the video clip had racked up more than 49,000 views on X, formerly Twitter, within two days of Smith posting it.

What did Alexis Smith say about her abuser?

Smith, who is originally from Wichita but represented Butler County in the Miss Kansas competition, provided more context about the confrontation in a post to her Facebook page.

“On the night of Miss Kansas, my journey took an unexpected turn when someone I have been healing from tried to disrupt my peace,” Smith wrote. “Instead of falling into silence, I chose to live out my vision for a better world. I took back the power — not just for myself, but for my dreams and everyone watching and listening.

“This isn’t about shunning others; it’s about turning our pain into purpose and channeling it in a way that unifies and uplifts.”

The clip has been shared widely on social media with many users praising Smith for her courage.

“As a fellow DV survivor myself, I applaud your bravery for calling out your abuser!” one X user posted. “This was such a #micdropped moment! Thank you for speaking up about domestic violence. Those of us that are DV survivors need to speak up about our experiences to give others hope.”

Smith works as a full-time cardiothoracic ICU nurse but still finds time to educate young people as part of her Respect Reclaimed initiative, using two puppets and her 19 years of ventriloquism experience to teach kids about healthy relationships.