Growing up and watching beautiful women compete for a sash and tiara on TV, “I thought I was a bit too awkward for pageants,” Zuri Hall recalls. Clearly not, because the Access Hollywood personality and American Ninja Warrior sideline reporter is now in her second year hosting Miss USA.
During the broadcast from Reno, she’ll be working with sideline hosts Julissa Bermudez and Micah Jesse. The event will see women from all 50 states and the District of Columbia compete in a series of categories: private interview, swimsuit, evening gown, and onstage question.
Helping decide who takes the crown and qualifies for Miss Universe is a judging panel made up of fashion designer Aaron Potts, Tony-award winning producer and owner of NitroC Group Ashlee Clarke, Dogpound founder Kirk Myers, fashion designer and model Nicole Williams-English, Sports Illustrated social media editor-at-large Olivia Ponton, and South Korean table tennis champ and model Soo Yeon Lee. This year’s performance will be by pianist, composer, and producer Chloe Flower.
Ahead of the 71st pageant, we caught up with Hall.
Elizabeth Morris/NBC
Have you had a history with pageants growing up?
Zuri Hall: Just admiring from afar. I always watched. It was a fun opportunity to have the family gather and root for your favorites. I’m very proudly and loudly from Toledo, Ohio. I graduated from Ohio State University, so I was always excited to see Ohio take the crown.
How does the atmosphere compare to working on American Ninja Warrior or interviewing stars on the red carpet at the Emmys?
It is the best of both worlds. There is this air of competition, which I love being a part of and helping facilitate. What’s really interesting and similar with Miss USA and also American Ninja Warrior is even though they are both competitive in nature, there is this beautiful spirit of community and camaraderie. Sure, everyone wants to take the top spot, but genuinely backstage sitting on the…
