Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America 2014!
The 24-year-old Miss New York, whose talent routine was a Bollywood fusion dance, became the first Indian-American pageant queen to win the Miss America tiara.
She is the second consecutive Miss New York to win the Miss America crown, succeeding Mallory Hagan, who was selected in January in Las Vegas.
The Miss America Organization will compensate Hagan, also 24, for her shortened reign at the top after the group changed its venue and schedule.
Interestingly, a report surfaced just a few days ago in which Nina Davuluri was allegedly recorded calling Mallory Hagan "fat as f--k" in a hotel room.
Whatever the case, she's succeeding her now.I'm just so happy this organization has embraced diversity," she said in a press conference after winning the crown in Atlantic City, N.J.'s Boardwalk Hall.
Her platform was "celebrating diversity through cultural competency," and she said, "I'm thankful there are children watching who can finally relate to a new Miss America."
The native of Syracuse, N.Y. wants to be a doctor, and is applying to medical school with the help of a $50,000 scholarship she won as part of the pageant title.
Davuluri's victory, of course, led to some negative comments on Twitter from users upset that someone of Indian heritage had won the pageant.
"I have to rise above that," she said, brushing that aside.
"I always viewed myself as first and foremost American."
Her first runner-up was Miss California, Crystal Lee.
Other top 5 finalists for Miss America 2014 were Miss Minnesota, Rebecca Yeh; Miss Florida, Myrrhanda Jones, and Miss Oklahoma, Kelsey Griswold.
In the run-up to the pageant, much attention was given to Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, the Army sergeant and first Miss America contestant to openly display tattoos.
Vail, not surprisingly, won a nationwide "America's Choice" vote to advance as a semi-finalist, but failed to make it into the Top 10 at the event.
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