Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell was crowned 2016 Miss America on Sunday in a pageant that was overshadowed by a scandal from three decades ago. She was crowned by last year’s winner Kira Kazantsev. The new winner will inherit a lifestyle that could see her log 20,000 miles of travel per month. The 1st runner-up was Miss Mississippi, Hannah Roberts, who earned a $25,000 scholarship. Her talent was classical violin. The 2nd runner-up was Miss Colorado, Kelley Johnson, who performed an original monologue and won a $20,000 scholarship.
Singer, actress and former Miss America Vanessa Williams received a public apology from the pageant organization that famously ordered her to give up her crown amid a nude photo scandal in 1984. Williams, the first African American woman to wear the crown, has maintained that the photos published by Penthouse Magazine in 1984 were unauthorized. Williams served as the pageant’s chief judge during its 95th anniversary in Atlantic City.
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