Caitlin Upton Criticizes JD Vance for Resurfacing Viral Pageant Clip

Caitlin Upton, a former Miss Teen USA contestant, recently condemned Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance for using a 17-year-old viral video of her widely derided response during a pageant to mock Vice President Kamala Harris.

Upton, who was 18 years old at the time of the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant, delivered an incoherent answer regarding why a portion of Americans could not locate the United States on a map. Her response quickly became a viral sensation, resulting in immense public mockery.

After years of ridicule, Upton expressed her distress in a 2015 interview, revealing that the backlash had led her to contemplate suicide. Now 35 and a mother of two, Upton addressed Vance’s comments on social media, stating, “It’s a shame that 17 years later this is still being brought up,” and emphasized the need for an end to online bullying.

Vance had humorously shared the clip with a caption that insinuated it was a complete version of Harris’s CNN interview. During a subsequent appearance on CNN, when host John Berman pointed out Upton’s past remarks about her mental health struggles, Vance brushed off the concerns and labeled the video as ‘a 20-year-old meme.’

While Vance did not apologize for his remarks, he expressed hope that Upton was well, stating that politics has become ‘too lame’ and insisting that having fun in political discourse is important.

This incident comes in the wake of multiple controversies surrounding Vance, including his dismissal of female politicians without children and moments of awkwardness during his campaign appearances.