Asya Branch is preparing to pass down the crown.
On Monday, Nov. 29, the 2021 Miss USA winner will anoint the newest beauty queen at the River Spirit Casino in Tulsa, Okla. As Asya recently wrote on Instagram, “One lucky lady’s life will be forever changed on that night.”
But there’s still quite a lot that needs to happen before judges can choose the next Miss USA. There’s the swimsuit portion of the competition, then evening gowns and, most important, the interview.
So far, there are no obvious frontrunners, but history is already being made. Kataluna Enriquez is representing Nevada this year, marking the first time an openly transgender contestant is competing in the pageant.
Kataluna previously told NPR that she has faced discrimination throughout her pageant experience but said, “When I was young, I always wanted to see someone on the Miss USA stage—someone like me. And it just happened to be that I was the person that I needed to make history.”
