Miss Teen USA Karlie Hay apologizes for using racial slur on Twitter
For Karlie Haye, the Texan crowned Miss Teen America on Saturday, the victory lap has morphed into an apology tour.
The 18-year-old spoke with Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday, saying she is "ashamed" she used the N-word in several tweets in 2013.
Her old posts came to light within hours of winning the pageant, which chose five blue-eyed blondes as its finalists.
"I am very sorry," Hay asserted. "It's embarrassing. It's something I'm ashamed of. I've grown up from that 15-year-old girl who used that type of language. It's never acceptable and now I know how hurtful it is. It hurts me to know that at one point in my life I used that language. I said that. It's not me."
She explained that at that point in her life, she was a "follower" trying to fit in with her friends. "The word was thrown around in the music I listened to, with the friends I hung out with, and I had no guidance. It was kind of a careless mistake. When the tweets got brought back up, I was embarrassed and ashamed and amazed that at one point, I thought it was OK to use that word. It's not OK. There is no excuse to say that word, ever."
Asked how she felt about the move to dethrone her, Haye says she's changed and pledged to "turn this message into a positive message because there are people who use that word and it's unacceptable." She added, "Hopefully people will learn from my mistake because it is a big mistake. It's something that will stick with me."