Karlie Hay, the new Miss Teen USA, is already in hot water for racist tweets.
No sooner was the 18-year-old Texan crowned the winner in Las Vegas on Saturday than Twitter users began finding multiple old tweets by Hay in which she used the N-word.
Hay removed the tweets and apologized, blaming her use of the word on “many personal struggles.” She has alluded to dysfunction in the past, including a history of substance abuse among some members of her family.
“I admit that I have used language publicly in the past which I am not proud of and that there is no excuse for,” she added.
“I am today a better person,” she wrote.
Several years ago, I had many personal struggles and found myself in a place that is not representative of who I am as a person…
— Karlie Hay (@RealMissTXteen) July 31, 2016
The controversy erupted just hours after critics slammed the Miss Teen USA pageant, which is controlled by the Miss Universe Organization, for having five white, blonde finalists who looked remarkably alike.
Many Twitter users slammed Hay for her apology and suggested that she deserved tougher punishment. Some suggested she should lose her crown.
#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
Let’s see if they’ll take away Miss Teen USA from Karlie Hay’s like they took away MissAmerica from Vanessa Williams pic.twitter.com/IYBYMGeBmC
— soysoy (@goddessbase) July 31, 2016
We should talk about this… as a pageant chick myself, I think she should be stripped of her title. https://t.co/djpGA8PTWP
— Dawn Neufeld (@DawnNeufeld) July 31, 2016
As a former contestant in the organization, her crown should be stripped. #MissTeenUSA https://t.co/p8pXDaKRKs
— JJ (@JennaLee10) July 31, 2016