Miss Alabama 2021, Zoe Sozo Bethel, died on Friday. The 27-year-old model succumbed to serious head injures sustained in an undisclosed accident eight days earlier. The report of the pageant queen's death was confirmed by her parents in an Instagram post on Sunday.
"On Friday, February 18, 2022, at approximately 5:30 AM Eastern time in Miami, Florida, our beloved Zoe Sozo Bethel passed from this life into the next as a result of succumbing to her injuries," the post read.
Only four days ago Zoe's family had informed that the model had been in a terrible accident. Zoe sustained severe damage to her brain/brainstem in an accident on February 10 and was in a coma. "Unfortunately the doctors are saying the damage cannot be repaired & that she may not have much time left," her family had stated then.
Deeply Religious Beauty Pageant Contestant
An Alabama native, Zoe represented the Cotton State in the Miss for America Strong pageant, which honors single women. In addition to that, the deeply religious beauty pageant contestant was a political commentator for RBSN, a conservative media company popular for covering Trump's rallies.
Zoe was also associated with the anti-abortion group Students for Life and Project Veritas, a right-wing organization with goals to unveil liberal bias in media reporting.
Zoe was Once Fired for Posting a Picture with Don Jr
According to Fox News, Zoe was once fired from a modeling gig for her political inclinations. In 2018, Atlanta-based Ursula Wiedmann Models told her in an email that they would no longer work with her because of her 'racist political connections.'
Zoe, at the time, told Fox that she was let go because she posted a photo of herself with Donald Trump Jr.
Zoe's family noted that her death has been a very 'traumatizing situation' for them. To cover the model's medical and funeral expenses, her family set up a GoFundme page, which raised upwards of $40,000 as of February 21.
