Just a few short days ago, Genesis Davila thought she was living in a fantasy.
Turns out, the newly-crowned Miss Florida 2017 is stuck in a nightmare.
On July 16, Davila defeated a handful of other beauties in order to capture the aforementioned title, sharing the above photo on Instagram soon afterward and writing as a caption:
“D R E A M I N G on a cloud !!!!! I am Miss Florida USA 2017 Thank you GOD & @missfloridausa for this life changing experience Believe in the beauty of your D R E A M S.”
But Genesis Davila has now been stripped of her crown.
According to Grant Gravitt, executive producer of the Miss Florida USA pageant, Davila “made a poor life choice” by using professional hair and makeup artists in her private room.
This marks a violation of the pageant’s rules.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy on rules,” Gravitt said in a statement.
“Whether it’s something major or minor, it’s all about keeping an equal and level playing field. Unfortunately, our title holder sought an unfair competitive advantage, and that’s just not acceptable in our system.”
Davila’s violation came to the attention of the organization after it received numerous complaints from contestants… and they also found an eye witnesses to the incident.
“We finally had substantial proof to link her and her vendors to her room on an evening which they were not allowed,” Gravitt said, hinting at social media as playing a key in the investigation.
As followers know, Davila did pose with one of her vendors in a photo.
She likely had no idea she was doing anything wrong at the time.
“I still feel like I’m Miss Florida USA because I was crowned Miss Florida USA that night,” she told Miami’s NBC 6 on Monday in response to the scandal.
“Even though all these false accusations and allegations and rumors have been wandering all over social media, I know that I have proof to show the world that none of this is true.”
Gravitt, however, remains staunch in his stance.
“When one steps out of line, it’s not fair to the other 64, and I couldn’t look at the other 64 in the eye knowing that I had substantial proof to say. Unfortunately, she sought an unfair advantage,” he said.
Runner-up Miss Sunny Isles Beach USA Linette De Los Santos has now been crowned Miss Florida 2017 in place of Davila.
“I’m just excited to have this opportunity,” she told Miami’s Local 10 on July 22. “I didn’t think it was going to happen, especially like this.”
Neither did we.
As far as beauty pageant scandals go, this one is relatively minor.
But it does still add to an ever-growing list of winners who later became losers. To wit:
