Amanda Longacre was stripped of her Miss Delaware crown and will be unable to compete in the Miss America pageant because she is “too old.” The competition rules say that contestants must be between 17 and 24 years old during 2014, and Longacre turns 25 in October.
“I didn’t know the rule, I also competed at the local level and it’s been several months,” Longacre said. “You put your trust in an organization to know their own rules. So when you come forward and you’re honest and you put the time and money in, this is not fair.”
Longacre said that she might sue over the decision to dethrone her, according to the Daily Mail. She started crying during her “Today” show interview on Friday talking about the ordeal.
“I won the title of Miss Delaware, I am Miss Delaware,” she said. “I have been nothing but honest from the beginning. I did not know that rule. I asked from the beginning if I was eligible and they said yes, they signed off on my contract, they had my birth certificate, I gave them everything.”
Runner-up Brittany Lewis has taken the crown, but Longacre was still allowed to keep her $9,000 scholarship. Despite that, Longacre believes the crown is rightfully hers and will be fighting for it. She said that the Miss America pageant has ignored her attempts to talk to them.
“This is about the title of Miss Delaware that I rightfully won,” she said. “I want to represent the people of Delaware. I want to be a social worker. This was a great start to a fabulous career for me and it’s still going to be a fabulous career for me.”
“I lost everything and they want to erase me forever.”
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