Air Force officer-turned-Miss America busts Hollywood myths about beauty queens.

2024 Miss America Madison Marsh claims’silly movies’ in Hollywood have produced bad opinions of the pageant community.

Madison Marsh, the first active-duty Air Force officer to be awarded Miss America, is addressing widespread misconceptions about the pageant world she has grown to adore.

Marsh, 23, who previously held the title of Miss Colorado before becoming the 2024 Miss America, told Fox News Digital that beauty pageants are more than simply the sparkle and glam seen in Hollywood blockbusters and on television screens.

“The Miss America organisation, especially in my competition, almost all of my score was dependent on my public speaking and my community service,” Marsh admitted. “In order to compete, you must implement a community service activity. My foundation is called the Whitney Marsh Foundation.”

She said, “You have public interviews, private interviews on stage, questions, political questions that you must answer in front of an entire audience, and then national live-streaming. I’ve met some of the most articulate, passionate, and intellectual individuals in the organisation, including girls and women.

“I think a lot many times people just pull up, you know, whatever has been made in Hollywood about silly, silly films that have been made about pageant girls and assume that’s all we are,” Marsh stated.

“However, what I perform on stage is more significant to me than the clothing I’m wearing. It’s what our communities can benefit from.

“I think a lot many times people just pull up, you know, whatever has been made in Hollywood about silly, silly movies that have been made about beauty girls and assume that’s all we are.” — Madison Marsh.

“This year, I want people to keep in mind that, despite wearing this, I still get to serve in the Air Force, in my organisation, or alongside Pam Khan for a cause that is extremely important, like pancreatic cancer. It is so much more than just a pageant.

She is an advocate who frequently speaks out for The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) and established the Whitney Marsh Foundation in her honour.

In an effort to secure $25 million for pancreatic cancer research programs, Madison will soon tell her tale before Congress on Capitol Hill, accompanied by Julie Fleshman, CEO of PanCAN.

“We are also calling on Congress whenever we are meeting with these members to raise the budgets for the National Institute of Health, up to $51.3 billion in the National Cancer Institute to $7.934 billion,” Marsh stated.

“I want to make sure that even though we are calling for a lot of these fundraising levels to be increased, that at some point that money is actually getting allocated back to pancreatic cancer.” — Madison Marsh.

She said, “Because when we compare pancreatic cancer – the No. 3 cancer killer in the United States – to the other top five, pancreatic cancer receives scraps and leftovers of funding, and it receives tens of millions of dollars less than the other top five.” And I think it’s particularly unfortunate because we have such a low survival rate.”

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