Miss Michigan stripped of title over ‘offensive’ tweets about hijab and ‘black-on-black gun violence’
A beauty pageant contestant who was crowned Miss Michigan has had her title revoked over "offensive" tweets she previously posted regarding hijabs and the black community.
On Friday 19 July, Kathy Zhu tweeted that the Miss World America (MWA) organisation had been in contact with her to inform her of their decision to strip her of her title.
"It has been brought to the attention of Miss World America (MWA) that your social media accounts contain offensive, insensitive and inappropriate content," the email read in a screenshot posted on the 20-year-old's Twitter account.
The organisation stated the removal of Zhu's title would be enforced "effective immediately", adding that the Republican supporter must remove any reference to herself being a MWA participant on all social media platforms.
Zhu tweeted that the reason for the removal of her title was due to tweets she had shared in the past concerning her "refusal to try on a hijab" and "black on black gun violence".
Vote RED!! #MAGA #midterms2018
A post shared by Kathy Zhu (@katzhux) on Nov 3, 2018 at 7:55pm PDT
The tweets in question have reportedly since been deleted.
According to screenshots of the now-deleted tweets obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Zhu had encountered and taken umbrage at a "'try a hijab on' booth" at her university campus.
"So you're telling me that it's now just a fashion accessory and not a religious thing? Or are you just trying to get women used to being oppressed under Islam?" one of the tweets read.
In the second tweet posted by Zhu, the University of Michigan student wrote: "Did you know that the majority of black deaths are caused by other blacks? Fix problems within your own community first before blaming others."
Following the removal of her Miss Michigan title, Zhu shared a video on her Twitter and Instagram accounts in which she thanked her followers for supporting her.
"This is so much bigger than pageantry. This is about an organisation discriminating against people with different opinions," the Donald Trump supporter said.
The Independent has contacted Kathy Zhu and Miss World America for comment.
