Actually, I’m not sorry.
Karlie Hay, the newly-crowned Miss Teen USA, took the delight of going on Good Morning America to defend her use of the n-word. Unsurprisingly, not once did the Texas teen denounce being a racist. She only called her actions ‘mistakes’ and this dragging of her name, an ‘obstacle’ through which she has to stay positive.
She also got to keep her crown.
The Miss Universe Organization brushed Karlie Hay’s actions to the side allowing her to keep the title and promising to support her “continued growth”.
Please excuse me while I roll my eyes across the universe, for all of us collectively.
The tweets of her using the n-word were discovered from the past and while no 13-year-old is the same person by the time they turn 18, racism doesn’t dissipate with “maturity”. The Miss Universe Organization is supporting Karlie Hay, her white privilege and racist actions while slapping diverse contestants in the face.
Let’s take a moment to examine all of the white tears Karlie Hay shed after Black Twitter pulled the receipts on her.
In a statement obtained by KTRK, Hay claimed she repeatedly tweeted the word ‘nigger’ because “at the time, due to a number of personal struggles, (she) was in a place that is not representative of who (she is) now.”
At what point did any personal struggle ever effect Hay with the n-word prescribed as a remedy? Are her people being massacred on the streets by law enforcement? Since when was there ever an excuse valid enough to use the n-word in the 21st century? It’s very clear that Miss Teen USA’s ‘personal struggle’ was being a caucasian female, who lived in Texas, where she was freely allowed to grow and flourish as a racist.
It gets better.
Hay pulled the ‘gangsta rap made me do it’ card. In her interview with GMA, Hay said she used the full, unannotated n-word because “the word was thrown around in the music (she) listened to, with the friends (she) hung out with, and (she) had no guidance—it was kind of a careless mistake.”
Hay first used Instagram to defend herself against her tweets.
To the black girl whose head is poking out at the back of the above picture, I’m sorry that your sister in pageantry didn’t even open her mouth to say that she’s not a racist. While Hay continues to flourish in her privilege, the Miss Universe Organization will likely turn away qualified women of color, who don’t stand for racial epithets.
Miss Teen USA 2010, Kamie Crawford, who is a black woman, disagrees with the Miss Universe Organization’s decision.
And because of her vocalness, she’s being attacked by others in the pageant community.
When ur the “most hated person in the pageant community” bc you don’t pretend the world is all sugarplums & fairies pic.twitter.com/5aTQioel6Q
— Kamie Crawford (@TheRealKamie) August 3, 2016
When pageant board ppl FINALLY get twitter JUST to @ me & “tell me about myself” but still hide behind fake pages 😂 pic.twitter.com/QZn1w67g3T
— Kamie Crawford (@TheRealKamie) August 3, 2016
The backlash that Crawford is receiving from speaking out about her successor’s use of the n-word and racism isn’t entirely clear. Let’s just say that between this outrage and the support of Hay, pageants are yet another place where we have to work for an equal footing as people of color.
Unless Karlie Hay gets on the front lines with #BlackLivesMatter supporters (yeah, right), I’m not buying her apology one bit.
Trigger warning: watching the full video might induce rage.
#MissTeenUSA, Karlie Hay apologizes for using racist N-word in her tweets on @GMA! It is a step in right direction. https://t.co/UF5schmRBV
— Teen Network (@iaam) August 2, 2016
