Interview with Marisa Butler, Miss Earth USA 2021

March 10, 2021

By Lucas Sigarini

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Marisa Paige Butler, Miss Earth USA 2021, sits down with Lucas Sigarini of @roadtomissusa as part of our Queenly Tea Talks Instagram Live series to talk about her experience in the pageant world and beyond.

Lucas: Today I have the newly crowned, Miss USA Earth, Marisa Paige Butler. Let’s welcome her in. How are you Marisa?

Marisa: I am doing great. It has taken some time to get used to all the work, but I am ready to be busy this year!

Lucas: That's fantastic! So let's get started: How did you get introduced into pageantry?

Marisa Butler, during her time competing in the Miss USA system

M: I started 10 years ago! I started in Miss Maine Teen USA in 2011. Then officially wanted to continue on. I saw so much continual growth, I wanted to keep on going.

L: I know how hard it is to find yourself. Miss Earth completely fits who you are. This year’s pageant had the best procustion. They brought their best show.

M: It was difficult to have people fly out because of COVID, but having such a flawless online stream was so helpful. I feel like we have all been missing pageants. I feel like a lot more eyes were on us this year. They made sure we had an amazing, fun, and safe time.

L: Talking about preliminary competition. Why did you change your gown?

M: I wanted my gown to be a surprise. I wanted to have that wow factor. My dress sponsor, Rene Atelier, made it custom to me. The beading itself in the gold dress was that of tiger stripes, which reflected more so my advocacy work. I hadn’t worn a flowy dress before so I really wanted to have one where I could have fun walking. I wanted to show my versatility. Also, red has always been my power color.

L: Speaking of your wardrobe, and lucky for pageant fans, I know you have sold a couple of your dresses on Queenly...

M: Yes! I have sold three dresses just this month. I am doing very well as a seller on Queenly. I really like the process. If anyone hasn’t sold a dress on Queenly before, my experience has been amazing. You can post as my dresses as you want. I am always putting new stuff on Queenly. One of my best friends, I met her because I sold her one of my gowns.

L: I just saw your red photoshoot dress listed on Queenly and I loved it!

M: Yes! That dress is very unique and comfortable. It’s actually a leotard with an overskirt. That was the perfect dress to do a photoshoot with. We got some amazing shots.

L: How was your experience competing at Miss Earth USA? What made it different from your other pageant experiences

M: The one thing we have never had to deal with at pageants are masks. And masks when you are wearing a full face of makeup is not the easiest thing to do. We just had to learn to adapt. That is what comes with pageantry. You have to be able to learn and adapt and still be able to give your best performance.

L: Can you talk about how your life has changed since your crowning?

M: I have been focusing on my advocacy. My goal is to have a clean-up kit distributed to people throughout different regions to start their own clean up groups. This is just a small thing people can do for their community.

L: I know this is something you have done way before you were Miss Earth USA

M: I started doing clean ups when I was Miss San Diego in 2017/2018. Now people are starting to bring their kids. It is great to see how excited the youth is to save Mother Earth. To be able to see that we are changing and shaping the youth of our community is amazing.