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.

Rita Ora is seen filming her music video “Anywhere” in the Meat Packing District on October 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

A reveler and a child street vendor pose for a photo during the Banda de Ipanema Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, January 31, 2015. Rio's over-the-top Carnival is the highlight of the year for many local residents. Hundreds of thousands of merrymakers are beginning to take to the streets in open-air “blocos” parties. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

“The Net thrower”. The fisherman are conducting activities on Situgunung Lake. Photo location: Situgunung lake, Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Dody Kusuma/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A Hindu holy man or Sadhu walks back to his ashram after taking a dip at Sangam, confluence of Ganges river, Yamuna river and mythical Saraswati river in Allahabad, India, Thursday, August 4, 2016. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)

People walk during a polluted day in Shenyang, Liaoning province, March 31, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

American social media personality, golf instructor and former professional golfer Paige Spiranac attends MAXIM Hot 100 Experience at Hyde Beach at SLS South Beach on July 16, 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by @_paige.renee/Instagram)

Winners of a competition enjoy a meal 450ft up on the roof of a central London skyscraper on August 21, 2018, as Deliveroo recreates “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper”, the photograph taken during the construction of the Rockefeller Center in New York City, 1932. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)