During the 2016 Miss America beauty pageant talent portion, Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson proudly performed an original monologue in which she talked about her profession as a nurse.
On Monday on the American talk show, The View, two hosts shared their fierce comments on Johnson’s monologue that was not exactly in line with the nursing community’s positive reception.
One of the hosts, Michelle Collins, said Miss Colorado “basically read her emails out loud and shockingly did not win.” She added, “she helps patients with Alzheimer’s, which I know is not funny, but I swear you had to see it.”
But the comment from “The View” that is earning some backlash online comes from Joy Behar, who quips during the segment, “Why does she have a doctor’s stethoscope around her neck?”
A clip of the segment has been posted on YouTube which now has around 951K views and a lot of angry comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNQW9l5_2y4
#NursesUnite
In response, nurses took social media to defend Johnson and express their outrage on what seemed a devaluation of nurses. Using the hashtags #nursesmatter, #nursesunite, #mytalentisnursing, and #notjustanurse they shared their sentiments and some even posted pictures of their stethoscopes to prove a point.
Oh ya know playin' dress up and savin' lives with my doctor's stethoscope! #nursesunite #nurses #ERNurse pic.twitter.com/yHWgKlrGe2
— Stephanie Callahan (@steph12162001) September 16, 2015
This is MY stethoscope, @TheView, and I use it proudly almost every day. Educate yourselves. #nursesunite pic.twitter.com/eHRdlAyp9U
— Molly BSN, RN, CCRN (@mollyanne1) September 16, 2015
My scrubs aren't a costume..They are my life. And my stethoscope is my own, not borrowed from a doctor. #nursesunite pic.twitter.com/G8GRx8AOKK
— Becks (@beckycrocker_) September 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/np_alexa/status/644020909620129792
https://twitter.com/tubadede/status/644022035509698560
https://twitter.com/jbronoske/status/644027204666417152
@JoyVBehar @TheView here is the "costume" I'm wearing at work tonight. #nursesunite pic.twitter.com/NbUTzW80Or
— Candace Williams // #NeverAgain (@162Liliana) September 16, 2015
#notjustanurse #nursesunite #mytalentisnursing #nursesmatter pic.twitter.com/gZXH6OenBy
— Denise Elliott (@DE3E) September 16, 2015
@JoyVBehar I have many stethoscopes and know how to use them all #nursesunite #NursesShareYourStethoscopes pic.twitter.com/rM4MbTCGEP
— Melissa S., RN (@MsSchwende) September 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/szboyce/status/644036244503027712
#nursesunite pic.twitter.com/GiugOGDf2z
— True Blue RN (@InfoRn08) September 16, 2015