Newly crowned Miss America Nina Davuluri faced racist flak on Twitter over her Indian Origin within hours after her coronation. This is the first time such a racial controversy has been associated with beauty pageants.
Also Read: Indian American Beauty Nina Davuluri crowned as Miss America 2014
Perhaps due her mistaken identity, many Twitter users equated her to Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and used their ignorance as an opportunity to slam her. Take a look few tweets below.
“Miss America right now or Miss Al qaeda?” said one tweet.
“It’s called Miss America, Get outta here New York, you look like a Terrorist #americanforamerica”.
“great miss america is a terrorist, this is just wonderful”
“First a President from God knows where,Africa and now a Miss America Lady that i cannot spell her name…. Terrorist”
“why the hell is there a terrorist dancing at Miss America pageant ?”
“#MissAmerica….ummmm wtf? have we forgotten 9/11”
“9/11 was 4 days ago and she gets Miss America?”
Some tweets questioned the validity of her win. “If you’re #Miss America you should have to be American”, implying that people with Indian background weren’t American enough.
Nina responded to this criticism with “I have to rise above that, I always viewed myself as first and foremost American”.
“I’m so happy this organization has embraced diversity, I’m thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America.” she reportedly said.
Indian Fashion designers have openly came in support of her after  the racist remarks on Twitter. “It is a shame that a chunk of the American population does not even know how to differentiate between an Indian and an Arab”, said a Fashion Designer.