Conor Swanberg This weekend Miss Teen USA crowned a new winner, Karlie Hay. The 18-year-old Miss Texas performed well in every category – including as evening wear and activewear – to beat out 50 other women to earn her crown.
But it wasn’t long until some controversial tweets were unearthed.
Twitter users posted numerous screenshots showing that Hay often made use of the n-word in her posts from 2013-2014:
https://twitter.com/VaultJosh/status/759613959989239808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Numerous people have called for the crown and title to be stripped from Kay:
if Miss Florida USA had her title stripped for using a MUA, then #MissTeenUSA should damn well lose hers for using racial slurs.
— nightMARS ☠️ (@marsl0tt) July 31, 2016
I wasn't impressed with the #missteenusa winner to begin with, but after reading those old tweets,it's clear she doesn't deserve that crown.
— Jess (@dazzle715) August 1, 2016
But now The Miss Universe Organization has released a statement regarding the future of Miss Kay.
She will get to keep her crown and title, but they chastised the 18-year-old for her use of the racist language, according to the Associated Press.
The statement reads, in full:
“The language Karlie Hay used is unacceptable at any age and in no way reflects the values of The Miss Universe Organization. As Karlie stated, she was in a different place in her life and made a serious mistake she regrets and for which she sincerely apologizes. Karlie learned many lessons through those personal struggles that reshaped her life and values. We as an organization are committed to supporting her continued growth.”
People were obviously very upset about this on social media:
so they're basically condoning her language…
— danny (@hilariolas) July 31, 2016
#MissTeenUSA: Karlie Hay admits to offensive tweets. But don't worry, she's white, and young, so it doesn't count.? https://t.co/CmRNNi4L1v
— LEFT? (@LeftSentThis) July 31, 2016
miss teen usa, you should be disappointed in your pageant. beauty is beyond blonde hair and blue eyes.
— Alexa Losey (@alexalosey) July 31, 2016
Despite the outrage, The Miss Universe Organization is “supporting her continued growth” in the future.