Caitlin Upton, a former Miss Teen USA contestant, found herself thrust back into the spotlight 17 years after a moment she would rather forget. Upton stumbled through a now-infamous response during the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant.
She has called out J.D. Vance for resurfacing the embarrassing clip to mock Vice President Kamala Harris. What was once a humiliating experience for Upton has now turned into a point of contention with Vance, the Republican senator who’s become Donald Trump’s running mate.
Caitlin Upton’s Response To J.D. Vance’s Post
Upton was just 18 when she represented South Carolina in the Miss Teen USA competition. She fumbled her way through a question about why some Americans struggle to locate their own country on a map. The clip quickly went viral, making her the butt of countless jokes.
Upton, now a 35-year-old mother of two, wasn’t about to let Vance get away with reopening old wounds. “It’s a shame that 17 years later this is still being brought up. Regardless of political beliefs, one thing I do know is that social media and online bullying needs to stop,” she fired back on X. Upton has now completely deleted her X account.
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J.D. Vance Refuses To Apologize To Caitlin Upton
United States Senator J.D. Vance, however, seems to have a less-than-sensitive approach to this matter. When confronted by CNN about Upton’s previous comments on how the video led her to contemplate suicide, Vance brushed it off. He called the clip “a 20-year-old meme” and suggested that the best way to handle such mockery is to “laugh it off.”
“Politics has got way too lame. You can have some fun while making an argument to the American people about improving their lives,” in Vance’s words. “I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke but I wish the best for Caitlin and hope she’s doing well.“
Vance has a history of making inflammatory statements, like when he dismissed females without children as “childless cat ladies.” It seems Vance’s political strategy is more about stirring the pot than addressing the actual issues.
The senator’s attempt to poke fun at Kamala Harris by dragging Upton into the mess was not just in poor taste. It also backfired, alienating even those who might typically lean toward his conservative platform.
When he finally did address them, his response to the hostility was to call them “haters.” If that wasn’t cringeworthy enough, he also tried (and failed) to storm Kamala Harris’s empty Air Force 2 plane when their aircraft landed at the same airport.
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