*Miss Teen USA, Karlie Hay, gave her first TV interview this morning to address her racist tweets from 2013 and 2014 that have resurfaced following her crowning on Saturday.
“I’m very sorry. It’s embarrassing. It’s something I’m ashamed of. I’ve grown up from that 15-year-old girl that used that type of language,” she said on “Good Morning America” Tuesday. “It’s never acceptable and now I know how hurtful that is. It hurts me to know that at one point in my life I used that language.”
As previously reported, screen grabs of old tweets show Hay using the “N” word.
“At that age I was being a follower, trying to fit in with my friends. The word was thrown around in the music I listened to and the friends I hung out with and I had no guidance,” Hay told “GMA’s” George Stephanopoulos.
Meanwhile, the NAACP’s Houston branch has issued a statement concerning Hay:
Since our founding over 107 years ago, the NAACP has remained steadfast in our mission to eliminate racial prejudice wherever it exists in our society. As such, the NAACP condemns the use of the “N” word in every instance and is disappointed to learn of its use by our local Miss Texas Teen USA and newly crowned Miss Teen USA, Karlie Hay.
NAACP Houston Branch President James Douglas states: “While we are encouraged that Miss Hay has acknowledged her use of the N-word, it demonstrates that race is still a tremendous issue in our country today; and it is not only being used by older people but young people as well, and it is further perpetuated by the environment in which they are raised in. Our concern is not just about the N-word itself; but the racist attitude behind the word. We must understand that the N-word is a reflection of a racist attitude and that we first must change our attitudes.”
Watch Hay’s “GMA” interview below:
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