Rikkie Valerie Kollé, the first transgender woman to be crowned Miss Netherlands, got it right when she said backlash to her win would only help lift her profile.
The 22-year-old model won the beauty pageant on Saturday and has seen a surge in her social media following ever since.
During the competition, she campaigned on a platform of transgender rights and increasing access to gender affirming health care for trans people in her home country.
She will now head to El Salvador in December to compete in the Miss Universe contest, representing The Netherlands. Angela Ponce was the first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe when she represented Spain in 2018.
But despite Kollé's triumphant win, she faced significant backlash from anti-trans people who said she should not have been allowed to compete in the first place.
"Yes you did it, you just steal a victory from a real woman," wrote @fenda_rosa on Kollé's Instagram.
"Comments are passing the vibe check. We've had enough of this bulls***. You stole this title from REAL women. You have absolutely nothing to be proud of," @sensiblyshy wrote.
Kollé told Newsweek about the hateful messages she received and while she "expected" backlash, she was shocked at receiving death threats and people telling her to end her life.
"They see us as monsters, and my daily DMs are full of people wishing me dead," she said.
But she has had the last laugh by gaining thousands more followers on her official Instagram account.
On Thursday alone, Kollé gained 21,470 new followers, bringing her total to 43,727, according to social media statistics website Social Blade.
Since winning, Kollé has not only had a boon to her social media, but also completed a number of media appearances, which she credits to the backlash against her win.
"Wishing me dead and telling me to suicide, 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," she told Newsweek.
Kollé added: "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."
Her win comes at a time when LGBTQ+ rights, especially transgender rights are under intense scrutiny around the world.
There have been ongoing calls to boycott companies who collaborated with transgender people, including Bud Light for sending Dylan Mulvaney commemorative cans of beer with her face on it, Target for selling "trans-friendly" swimwear and Maybelline for using a bearded man in a recent campaign.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
