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Miss USA's 'genuine' answer in the 1997 Miss Universe pageant was funny, but so much more

"If you had no rules in your life for one day, and you could be outrageous, what would you do?"

Brook Lee's answer made the host and the audience burst out laughing.

Love them or hate them, beauty pageants have long been a fascination for people around the world. Every year, women compete in local pageants that funnel to state and national levels, then finally to the Miss World and Miss Universe competitions at the global level.

One of the most anticipated parts of a pageant, for both the lovers and the haters, is the interview portion. Instead of just watching them waltz across stage in a glitzy gown or a bathing suit, we actually get to hear from the beauty queens and judge how well they think on their feet.

The answers to the hosts' questions can range from smart to generic to occasionally disastrous, but one contestant's answer from more than two decades ago has gone viral because it was just oh-so-real.

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After 97 years, Miss America is putting and end to the swimsuit portion of the annual competition.

New competition chair Gretchen Carlson, who was crowned Miss America in 1989, announced the change during an appearance June 5 on "Good Morning America."

"We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance," she said. "That's huge. And that means we will no longer have a swimsuit competition."

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This is 21-year-old reigning Miss Iceland Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir.

"We maybe don't understand each other," she once said of ending injustices, "but there is one language we all understand and should speak to stop the violence in this world — that's the language of understanding, kindness, and love."

Jónsdóttir was in the running for Miss Grand International, a world-famous beauty contest being held in Las Vegas.

But she just dropped out of the competition.

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