Miss Teen USA Winner To Keep Crown Despite Racist Tweets

LAS VEGAS (CBSNewYork/AP) — The new Miss Teen USA will get to keep her crown despite an outcry over tweets she once wrote using racist language.

The Miss Universe Organization, which owns the Miss Teen USA pageant, issued a statement Sunday chastising Karlie Hay's words but also "supporting her continued growth."

After she was crowned Saturday night in Las Vegas, social media users found tweets containing the N-word linked to an account with Hay's name.

A screenshot of the four tweets from 2013 and 2014 has been making the rounds online.

Pageant officials, referencing an apology Hay posted to Twitter and Instagram, say the 18-year-old was going through personal struggles and regrets her words.

"I admit that I have used language publicly in the past which I am not proud of and that there is no excuse for," Hay wrote. "Through hard work, education and thanks in large part to the sisterhood that I have come to know through pageants, I am proud to say that I am today a better person."

Hay, of Tomball, Texas, says she will use her platform to advocate for those affected by drug and alcohol abuse.

Twitter users criticized the pageant for its lack of diversity after it posted a picture featuring the top five contestants, who are all fair-skinned and blonde, to its account.

Model Chrissy Teigen tweeted, "Wow how can we choose from such a diverse bunch."

She later tweeted, "It's fiiiiiine. Not their fault. I'm sure they are delightful women. Just funny. I'm not gonna write a think-piece on a damn pageant."

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