Miss USA changes answer about health care

After her answer on health care divided viewers, Miss USA Kara McCullough said she wanted to clarify her statement.

McCullough, a South Carolina State University graduate, faced some public scrutiny from some liberals but also praise from some conservatives shortly before winning the crown Sunday.

“As a government employee, I’m granted health care and I see firsthand that for one to have health care, you need to have jobs,” she said at the Miss USA Pageant.

McCullough appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America Tuesday and added to her original statement, saying she is “privileged to have health care and I do believe that it should be a right.”

McCullough told GMA she has to look at health care as a privilege because she has a job.

“I hope and pray moving forward that health care is a right for all worldwide,” she said.

McCullough also faced some public backlash after she said at the pageant she preferred the term “equalism” to “feminism.”

“I try not to consider myself this die-hard, ‘I don’t really care about men,’” she said Sunday. “But one thing I want to say, women, we are just as equal as men when it comes to opportunity in the workplace. Firsthand, I’ve witnessed the impact women have in leadership in the medical sciences as well as just in the office environment.”

McCullough, a chemist for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said on GMA that she did not want to be labeled as someone who does not support women’s rights.

"...‘Equalism’ is more of a term of understanding that no matter your gender, you are still just kind of given the same accolades on your work," McCullough said today. "I believe that if a person does a good job, they should be, you know, credited for that in a sense."

McCullough also mentioned she plans to continue working with her program, Science Exploration for Kids.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Miss USA changes answer about health care."