I’ve never really understood the reasoning behind beauty pageants. Yes, the women are beautiful, and they’re good at walking and waving and wearing a bathing suit at the same time, and every once in a while you get a gem like Miss Teen South Carolina who is such an idiot you can FEEL yourself losing brain cells as you watch, but does anyone ever really remember who the previous year’s Miss USA is? Once they pass off the crown to the next pretty, fake-tanned 19-year-old, do they get any other jobs? Other than like, Mary Kay promotions? I don’t think so, but please tell me if I’m wrong!

Well, clearly none of that matters on a Wednesday, when I’m on a hunt for the hottest hottie of the week. The Miss USA provided a massive helping of beautiful ladies from all over America, but one stood out as a winner – Miss Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island took the crown this year, and boy is that 20-year-old brunette FINE.

Culpo made waves with her open acceptance of the pageant’s recent decision to allow transgender participants into the competition, saying that “I do think that that would be fair, but I can understand that people would be a little apprehensive to take that road because there is a tradition of natural-born women.” We’re not sure if it was that kind statement, or the fact that the Boston University sophomore can rock a lilac bikini like no other, but either way – congrats to Olivia for gaining about 15 minutes of highly-scrutinized fame, including this week’s Hump Day Hottie award!

[img via starcasm]