Miss USA Winner Says Health Care Is A 'Privilege'

WASHINGTON, DC — For the second year in a row, Miss D.C. has won the Miss USA title. Unlike last year, she's stirring up quite a bit of controversy due to her remarks during the pageant.

Kara McCullough, a 25-year-old nuclear scientist who works for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was crowned Miss USA 2017 Sunday night in Las Vegas. Last year, D.C. native Deshauna Barber took home the crown. It's the fourth time D.C. has been named Miss USA since the competition began in 1952, and third since 2002.

But McCullough has earned plenty of criticism for some comments she made during the pageant, including that health care is a "privilege" and that she didn't consider herself a feminist.

McCullough, who was asked what she considers feminism to be and whether she considered herself a feminist, responded by saying she preferred "equalism."

In addition to calling health care a "privilege" rather than a right, she also seemed to believe that health care should be restricted to people who have jobs. Or, she could be saying that these days you need a job to have health care, and we need to do something to fix that. It's tough to tell from her answer.

"As a government employee, I’m granted health care," she said. "And I see firsthand that for one to have health care, you need to have jobs, so therefore, we need to continue to cultivate this environment so that we’re given the opportunities to have health care as well as jobs for all Americans worldwide."

She certainly had her defenders in the GOP:

New #MissUSA says healthcare is a privilege and not a right, and that she's an "equalist" not a feminist! Beauty and brains. She is amazing! pic.twitter.com/O4iyaY67xr
— Tennessee (@TEN_GOP) May 15, 2017

But others countered that she was feeding into the false notion that feminism was about female supremacy rather than equality with men.

It's incredibly sad that in 2017, a woman is striving to occupy a position of influence w/ no understanding of what feminism is. #MissUSA
— courtney (@seecourttweet) May 15, 2017

And still others weighed in on her health care answer.

Sorry #MissDC, you just lost my vote. You do not need a job to have healthcare. Everyday be deserves healthcare. Terrible answer. #MissUSA
— SandyMascola (@SandyMascola) May 15, 2017

Image via Miss USA