Miss Colorado did not take home the crown on Sunday night, but her talent was certainly memorable.
She emerged on stage in her nurse scrubs, talking about her career.
Her story getting a lot of traction on social media, not because of what Kelley Johnson said on stage, but rather because of what the hosts of "The View" said about her.
“(She) came in a nurse's uniform, and basically read e-mails out loud (laughing). And shockingly did not win. I was like, ‘That’s not a real talent,'" said The View co-host Michelle Collins. "Why does she have a doctor's stethoscope around her neck?" questioned co-host, Joy Behar.
Those comments have triggered a backlash on social media. One tweet reads:
It's very obvious the ladies on The View do NOT have the compassion, wisdom or respect for human dignity to be "just a nurse." #nursesunite
— Priscilla (@Pris635) September 15, 2015
Johnson’s talent stole the show, a simple monologue about being a nurse and caring for Alzheimer’s patients.
“I went over to him and I lifted his head up out of his hands. And I said, 'Joe, I know that this is really hard. But, you are not defined by this disease.'"
She goes on, "I'm never going to be just a nurse (cheers)."
So touching, The Alzheimer's Association tweeting, "Thank you, @missamericaco."
The View’s Facebook pageis blowing up.
"How about posting an apology for your rude comments about nurses??," a viewer posted.
"It's a shame you have no respect for one of the most important and already under-appreciated professions in the world," said another.
"The hosts of The View wish they collectively had enough brains to be a nurse," another person on Facebook commented.
Now the women of "The View" are responding to the criticism.
It took 27 minutes on Tuesday, but co-host Michelle Collins finally addressed the issue, saying their comments were taken out of context.
Collins said, "People were very upset with what we said," Collins explained, "I, for all of us, want to say we love nurses. Nurses, if you’re watching, we adore you, we respect you."
When the audience started applauding, Collins said, "Clap for the nurses. You guys are wonderful, you’re the most compassionate people."
Collins tried to say the hosts weren't talking about Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson as a nurse.
"I was not talking about her as a nurse, we were talking about the talent competition, and it got misconstrued," Collins said.
Co-host Joy Behar tried to explain her comments by saying, "I was just not paying attention. I was looking at a Miss America tape and there’s a woman wearing like an outfit with a stethoscope and I’m thinking, 'Is she in a costume?' I didn’t know she was nurse. I'm used to seeing them in gowns and bathing suits."
Behar went on to say, "It’s not like I was trying to be funny. I was just stupid, and inattentive on my part, I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about."
Behar explained her son-in-law is a physician assistant and one of her nieces is a nurses.
Despite the apology, co-host Whoopie Goldberg, who was not part of the discussion on Monday, jumped into the conversation and tried to say it was all a joke.
"You just have to listen, you have to pay attention, you have to look at folks and say, 'Is that what they said or was she making a joke?'" Goldberg said.
Raven-Symone added, "Did they hear the conversation? Did they know what you were talking about at all?
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