The newly crowned Miss Netherlands, who has become the first transgender woman to represent the country, has spoken out about her competitors' reactions to her win.
Rikkie Valerie Kollé made history over the weekend after being awarded the prestigious crown and is now looking to secure the ultimate victory at the Miss Universe competition in El Salvador in December.
That competition will also mark a massive milestone for the 22-year-old as she will become the second openly transgender person to ever compete in the pageant following Angela Ponce's historic appearance at the 2018 event.
Speaking to Newsweek about her win on Saturday, Kollé described it as "spectacular."
"It was a spectacular moment for me, I was in full disbelief when I was crowned Miss Universe Netherlands as the first transgender woman, ever," she said. "I'm proud of that and the night was amazing."
When asked why she joined the Miss Netherlands competition, she said it was because it "gives you an opportunity to speak and use your voice."
"You can talk about what you want to change in society or what you think you can offer," she told the outlet.
The beauty queen also expressed her love for her queer friends as another reason why she wanted to compete.
"Let's make my Queer community proud by doing this," Kollé said.
However, despite her win, the backlash she received after the show reached a whole new level, with some even going as far as wishing death upon the star.
"They see us as monsters, and my daily DMs are full of people wishing me dead," she explained. "Wishing me dead and telling me to [end my life], those things are terrible to write, but at the same it's only lifting me up because I get a bigger platform than I could ever dream of."
"The only thing I want to say to the haters is 'thank you, because you're giving me a bigger platform than I can ever imagine," she added.
While the 22-year-old has been revelling in her newfound success, she has been pondering on one thing.
After developing some close friendships while competing in the pageant, she expected to at least get a message or two from her fellow contenders, but she didn't.
"I thought we were a group and bonded after a few months, but after I won I did not get a message from every contestant and that made me really sad because I thought we were a group and doing this together," Kollé told the outlet of the frosty reception.
"Some did not even say congratulations, and it shocked me because I did not expect that," she added.
So what's next for the star?
Kollé has shifted her focus towards medical care for the community after recognizing that there is still a major issue when it comes to transgender people accessing gender-affirming health care.
"I want to speak up for the trans people who need it, as a little kid I didn't have someone to look up to. I really want to be that role model and inspiration for others," she said.
"I also want to do something [for] the trans health-care waiting list... the lists are really, really long. And that needs to change because people need to get help as soon as they can because it's a necessary thing [for people's mental health]."
Congratulations to the star, we can't wait to see her compete in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant.
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