On Monday morning, ABC's Good Morning America took the time to celebrate the first time that a transgender contestant has gotten to participate in the Miss Universe pagent even though he ended up losing.
At 7:48 a.m. Eastern, fill-in co-anchor Cecilia Vega hyped the event as "groundbreaking" as she set up a two minute, 7 second report on the pageant: "And we are back now with that groundbreaking night at the Miss Universe pageant. Miss Spain making history just by being there, and Miss Philippines winning the crown."
She then tossed it to correspondent Lara Spencer, who began: "Yes, it was quite a night -- lots of pomp and pageantry, a few stumbles along the way as well -- but it was also a night of firsts. The first all-female judging panel as well as the first transgender contestant."
In the pre-recorded piece, Spencer recalled: "A history-making MIss Universe. Spanish model Angela Ponce becoming the first transgender woman to compete in the 66-year-old pageant."
Spencer noted that Ponce received a standing ovation from the audience, and, having spent almost half the report on the transgender contestant who lost, Spencer spent the rest of the report on the other contestants.
