Justice

Chrissy Teigen Highlights What Was Missing From the Miss Teen USA Pageant

July 31st 2016

Model Chrissy Teigen responded Sunday to a tweet from the Miss Teen USA pageant, which held its annual event the night before at the Venetian Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. And she didn't mince words when she pointed out what she felt was missing from the photo of the pageant's top five contestants: Diversity.

In a tongue-in-cheek reply, Teigen retweeted a photo from the pageant's official Twitter account that featured a celebratory image of the event's final five finishers. She noted that all were very similar in appearance, presumably referring to the lack of racial diversity.

Teigen wasn't the only one to notice the whiteness of the top five contestants: Followers on Twitter joined her in calling on the pageant for better representation.

Teigen later suggested that the blame shouldn't be placed on pageant participants so much as on those running the pageant:

But there's more!

Turns out Teigen may have been on to something. The winner of the Miss Teen USA pageant, 18-year-old Karlie Hay of Texas, appears to have a race problem of her own, Mic reported. Multiple sources on Twitter have posted screenshots from Hay's account that show her using the N-word. A LOT. (Hay's account is now private, and neither Mic nor ATTN: could confirm the reported tweets independently.)

One Twitter user summed up the situation: The all white, all blond top five was less than ideal, but the real problem was the potential racism that the winner reportedly expressed on her social media account in the past.

Hay has since taken to Twitter with an apology, citing "personal struggles" as the reason for her past behavior.

ATTN: has reached out to the pageant for comment, and we'll update this story if we receive a response.

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