By Geoff HerbertIn 1983, a Syracuse University student named Vanessa Williams became the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss America. Thirty years later, the second Miss Syracuse winner to receive the same national honor, Miss New York Nina Davuluri, became the first Indian-American woman to win Miss America.
Davuluri, of Fayetteville, N.Y., is also the first Indian-American Miss New York, but her victory Sunday night put her race in the national spotlight with some hateful responses.
Sites like CNN, Buzzfeed and AL.com compiled some of the most racist Twitter reactions to the Miss America 2014 results, and they’re nowhere near as pretty as the contestants. Here’s a sampling of some of the worst tweets:
- “I swear I’m not racist but this is America.”
- “If you’re #Miss America you should have to be American”
- “Miss America? You mean Miss 7-11.”
- “Even Miss America has been outsourced to India. #NinaDavuluri!”
- “WHEN WILL A WHITE WOMAN WIN #MISSAMERICA? Ever??!!”
- “And the Arab wins Miss America. Classic.”
- “Congratulations Al-Qaeda. Our Miss America is one of you.”
- “Well they just picked a Muslim for Miss America. That must’ve made Obama happy. Maybe he had a vote.”
- “9/11 was 4 days ago and she gets miss America?”
For the record, Davuluri is neither Arab, Muslim or a member of Al-Qaeda — she’s an American with Indian heritage. She was born in Syracuse, moved to Oklahoma at age 4 and then Michigan at 10. Six years ago, her family moved back to Central New York where her father is an obstetrician-gynecologist affiliated with St. Joseph’s Hospital.
“I have to rise above that,” she said, shrugging off the online backlash in a post-pageant press conference. “I always viewed myself as first and foremost American.”
During Sunday night’s live broadcast, she spoke out against plastic surgery, but said people are entitled to their own choice and encouraged them to be confident in their appearances. She dazzled in an animal print bikini for the swimsuit competition and, for her talent, she displayed her training in Indian dance with a Bollywood number choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan of “So You Think You Can Dance.”
“It’s the first time Bollywood has ever been performed on the Miss America stage and it’s such an honor for myself, my family and the Indian community, as well,” she said Monday in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Davuluri, 24, ran on a pageant platform of “celebrating diversity through cultural competency.” She plans to use the $50,000 scholarship she won to help pay for medical school and become a doctor.
“I’m so happy this organization has embraced diversity,” the new Miss America said at Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Boardwalk Hall. “I’m thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America.”
But can you imagine if Twitter existed when Williams won Miss America 30 years ago? Even some well-known public figures expressed disappointment in this year’s results.
“The liberal Miss America judges won’t say this – but Miss Kansas lost because she actually represented American values,” Fox News host Todd Starnes suggested.
Miss Kansas Theresa Vail was among the most-talked-about contestants last week when she became the first in the pageant to display visible tattoos. Others praised the Army sergeant’s military service and love of hunting as making her a “real American,” but she didn’t make the top five.
“This was the most stressful night of my entire life,” judge Lance Bass said in a press conference after the coronation. “I mean, I was sweating bullets the whole entire time [but] I think the judges did an incredible job choosing the best Miss America.”
Other popular contestants included the injured Miss Florida, wearing a bejeweled knee brace, but Miss New York was a hot topic of controversy over the weekend after she was accused of calling last year’s Miss America (and Miss New York) winner Mallory Hagan “fat.” Davuluri denied making the comments, and a a rep for Miss America said the incident had been investigated and found the story had “no validity.”
Davuluri told The Post-Standard this summer that she hated the word “skinny” and struggled with weight and bulimia herself. Before entering the pageant, she lost 60 pounds with the help of a local personal trainer.
“People who’ve been overweight, especially women, feel like at a moment’s notice we can go back to where we were,” she said in July. “It makes you more sympathetic, more empathetic. You don’t judge. I’ve been there, and if I can pull myself out of where I’ve been, anyone can.”
Source: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/09/nina_davuluri_miss_america_indian_racist_backlash.html