Everything was going smoothly for Miss Utah Marissa Powell. She had made it to the top five in the Miss USA pageant, and was vying for the coveted tiara Sunday night -- until she majorly flubbed the interview portion.
Celebrity judge NeNe Leakes asked the 21-year-old the following question: “A recent report shows that in 40% of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?”
Check out the video above to watch Powell’s response, which people say gives Miss Teen South Carolina -- who famously bombed her question in 2007, below -- a run for her money.
Powell’s cringe-inducing response to "create education better” sent Twitter into a tizzy:
Hey, Miss South "Maps" Carolina! You're finally off the hook. Send the thank you card to Miss Utah! #missusa— Ryan (@RyanWoodDFW) June 17, 2013
To make up for Miss Utah being a moron.. here's Sheryl Sandberg being a genius. http://t.co/AeVlfLtQlN— Brandy Mills (@BTweetsinCLT) June 17, 2013
I would pay $500 for Miss Utah and Miss South Carolina to record a long, rambling, incoherent personal voicemail greeting on my phone..— Cockburn (@IrishMik) June 17, 2013
How did miss Utah have a meltdown..? She just answered the question with a dumb response.— Maria Bieber :* (@MariaGiulianiii) June 17, 2013
Miss Utah is right about 1 thing, she DOES need better education http://t.co/gRRA0beZyt via @youtube— Andi (@Andiworld) June 17, 2013
Don't sweat it, Miss Utah. Who among us could keep a steady train of thought standing THAT CLOSE to a Jonas Brother?— Dan Bova (@DanBova1) June 17, 2013
The best part of Miss Utah's answer is @GiulianaRancic's expression! hahaha pic.twitter.com/Cg2VeZynGJ— Paul Jones (@PaulJonesGA83) June 17, 2013
miss utah is a volleyball player which means she automatically wins yay— queen of the court (@ivolleyballs) June 17, 2013
That was an uncomfortable 30 seconds with Miss Utah. #ThatsWhatISaid #missusa2013— Jeff Barrett (@BarrettAll) June 17, 2013
"To create education better" sentence of the night. Courtesy of #MissUtah— Nina Garcia (@ninagarcia) June 17, 2013
In defense of Miss Utah USA, when you start with Nene Leakes asking "What does this say about society?", you're already in Absurdtown.— Linda Holmes (@nprmonkeysee) June 17, 2013
According to Powell's bio, she studied at Westminster College and Brigham Young University.
So far, Powell has remained silent on Twitter. But all wasn’t entirely lost: The model-actress-singer finished as the third runner-up, and won the title of Miss Photogenic. Miss Connecticut Erin Brady, 25 was ultimately crowned Miss USA at the end of the evening, after tackling a question regarding the Supreme Court's decision to uphold widespread DNA tests.