Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America 2014 on Sunday night and became the first winner of Indian descent. However shortly after her victory, negative comments surfaced on social media—such as Twitter and Facebook—about her ethnicity.
The 24-year-old beauty queen from Syracuse, New York, captivated the audience with a classical Hindi dance mixed with Bollywood elements during the segment. Her pageant platform was “celebrating diversity through cultural competency.”
A user on Twitter called her a “Muslim.” Other tweeters said, “This is America. Not India.” Another post said, “And the Arab wins Miss America. Classic.” While Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, was praised for being a “real American” who loves her country.
During a news conference, after the competition, Davuluri said she was proud to be the first Indian Miss New York and now the first Indian Miss America, according to CNN. She further brushed off all racist comments about her and said, “I have to rise above that. I have always viewed myself as first and foremost American.”
The organization says that it embraces all American nationalities. In the past, women of color have won the title of Miss America. Before Davuluri, Angela Perez-Baraquio, who is of Filipino descent, became the first Asian American to win in 2001.
A former model and Actress, Vanessa Williams, was the first African American woman to win in 1984 but was forced to resign when Penthouse Magazine published nude photos of her.
Since Williams’ first win several other Black women have won the Miss America Pageant. These include Kenya Moore in 1993, Erika Dunlap (2005), and Caressa Cameron (2010), who was the eighth black woman to win the crown, according to BET. Actress Hallie Berry was also a contestant at the 1986 Miss USA pageant as the first runner up.