As residents of Staten Island marched in the New York City borough's annual St. Patrick's parade on Saturday, Miss Staten Island was confined to the sidelines, according to CBS New York.
Madison L'Insalata claims that just hours after she came out as bisexual, organizers banned her from participating. This thwarted her plan to march in support of the LGBTQ+ community - and wear a rainbow-colored scarf while waving from the back of a vehicle along the parade route - after the Pride Center of Staten Island had once again been prohibited from taking part.
After her announcement made headlines, parade head, Larry Cummings, allegedly placed a call to the pageant director, Jim Smith, to inform him that all pageant winners were banned from the parade for "safety" reasons.
Smith called L'Insalata to break the news, detailing that Cummings had told him that L'Insalata and another pageant queen who supported her were prohibited from participating. "I was stunned by the whole thing. I wasn't prepared. He just said we're worried about her safety, like he's doing us a favor," he told the publication.
"It's really hurtful. Nobody likes to feel rejected from their community," 23-year-old L'Insalata told CBS New York. "I am proud of Staten Island and I am proud of the title that I have because I know that myself and all the other girls involved do a lot of really great things for our community. So it's a shame that this really great community event, we ended up not being allowed to be a part of."
Dwayne Wade speaks about supporting his son at the Miami Pride Parade:L'Insalata did show up at the parade regardless, wearing a rainbow scarf and heart sticker, but was only able to watch. "It was hurtful [to see]," her mother said.
"I knew that people would talk about it, and that's all I wanted. Because the more people that know about it, the more likely it is to change," Miss Staten Island continued, adding that many community leaders and spectators applauded her decision to attend.
Cummings has been widely criticized for continuing to prevent the Pride Center of Staten Island from participating in the parade. Director of the organization, Carol Bullock, told CBS New York that in the past Cummings has said that letting such groups march "promotes the homosexual lifestyle" and "goes against the tenents of the Catholic Church".
