Miss France contestants stand on stage during the Miss France 2016 beauty pageant, on December 19, 2015 in Lille, northern France. (Photo by Philippe Huguen/AFP Photo)

A contestant prepares at the backstage before the Miss Transqueen India 2018 transgender beauty pageant in Mumbai, India on October 7, 2018. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

Chahad, 16, gets groomed at a beauty Salon in Kalak before her wedding party, Iraq February 16, 2017. It's the second marriage to take place in the IDP camps east of the city where tens of thousands are living, having fled the fighting in Mosul. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

In this picture taken with a drone a man and a woman enjoy the beautiful weather at the Langwieder See (Lake Langwieder) in Munich, Germany, Thursday, June 18, 2020. (Photo by Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP Photo)

Kirby waits to be judged during the 44th annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Monday, April 24, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. The pageant kicks off the Drake Relays festivities at Drake University where a bulldog is the mascot. (Photo by Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

Contestants in the Miss International Queen, a transgender beauty pageant, in Pattaya, Thailand, on Saturday, August 24, 2024. (Photo by Andre Malerba/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

General view of the stands in the Atrium during the Big Fashion Wardrobe Spring/Summer fashion and beauty event at Westfield London shopping centre on March 29, 2011 in London, United Kingdom.

Child beauty pageants are a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. While some critics see the pageants as an exploitation of innocents, others—particularly pageant parents—view the competitions as a way for a young talent to enter the entertainment industry.