Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson Explains Why She Chose To Wear A Nurse Uniform At Miss America Contest

Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson, who became famous for delivering a monologue in her nurse's uniform at the Miss Universe pageant Sunday, has come out with an explanation for her actions.

The 22-year-old said she is proud to be a nurse and wanted to highlight the nursing profession on the Miss Universe platform. "I am a nurse and that's my talent is taking care of people and caring about other people," said the blonde beauty, as she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday.

"I wanted to give the nurses that don't have that voice, that voice and that recognition of somebody going up there and just being a little bit different and unique," she added. During her talent round performance, Johnson came dressed in the attire of a nurse with a stethoscope around her neck. She surprised everybody when she started talking about an Alzheimer's patient named Joe.

Johnson's actions started a hashtag #NursesUnite on various media platforms and she was also praised by Miss America Betty Cantrell for promoting the profession of nurses. "I'm really proud of Kelley … and I'm really proud of her for taking the talent portion to speak about what she's passionate about and what's important to her," Cantrell told E! News.

"I'm really happy that she told a story like that on the Miss America stage on national television to help people appreciate nurses and what they do for us. … I'm proud of Kelley and I say props to her,” added the newly chosen Miss America.

Cantrell defended the second runner-up and also disapproved of the negative criticism she received from various critics, including the hosts at "The View."

"I think it's a little bit ridiculous, I think that people just kind of look for things to make fun of," she said.