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NeNe Leakes Responds to Miss Utah's Flub
"We all make mistakes," the Real Housewives of Atlanta star says.
It was the flub seen 'round the world!
On Sunday, Miss USA contestant Marissa Powell whipped the web into a frenzy when her botched answer to a question at the pageant went viral (watch it below).
NeNe Leakes, who judged the competition, was at the center of the phenomenon. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star was the one who asked Powell her thoughts about American women earning less in the workplace than men. And Leakes' question prompted Powell to stumble upon her answer.
"I think," Powell began, "we can relate this back to education and how we are continuing to try to strive to...to figure out how to create jobs right now. I think especially the men are seen as the leaders of this and so we need to try and figure out how to create education better so that we can solve this problem."
PHOTOS: The Fabulous Life of NeNe Leakes!
Now, NeNe is opening up about her thoughts on Powell's answer. And in a statement, NeNe says, "We all make mistakes that often result in a miscommunication. Unfortunately, Miss Utah's error was very public. I'm confident she will use this experience and learn from it. Hopefully, with all the attention she's getting today she can turn this negative into a positive."
For her part, Powell, who placed third runner-up in the competition, has been handling the scrutiny like a true pageant queen. "I really appreciate the love!" she tweeted to all her well-wishers. "The hate? That's not my style."
How do you think Powell handled herself during the pageant? Tell us in the comments—and see her pageant answer for yourself:
