Miss America Kira Kazantsev is trying to put a stop to the rumors of her supposed violent past at Hofstra University in 2013.
Earlier in the week, reports revealed that the 23-year-old beauty queen was allegedly kicked out of Alpha Phi at Hofstra University for abusive hazing. However, the aspiring law student called the accusations "untrue" and "hurtful," during an interview on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, and in a new blog published on her website.
"I'm incredibly hurt that someone has said these things," she said. "Under the broad definition of hazing, yes, I was involved in some of those activities while at Hofstra. I came in as an impressionable freshman. Everybody wants to be a part of something, and at the time, unfortunately, that was just the culture of the university."
In fact, Kazantsev admits to being exposed to the rituals of harassment and not understanding the inappropriateness of such acts.
"I was hazed and I was kind of brought up through the organization thinking that that's appropriate behavior when clearly, I'm two years removed from the organization today and I understand, that that's just not true," she said.
In her new blog post, Kazantsev said that she never abused pledges, but many were subjected to "sleepless nights crafting - things that were like menial tasks."
"I was never involved with any name-calling or use of profanity toward a girl during my time with the sorority," she wrote in bold. "I was never involved in any physical hazing or any degradation of physical appearance of any kind. This has all been immensely taken out of context and manipulated purposefully because I am now in a public position."
A unnamed former sorority sister told the website Jezebel that Kazantsev, the newly-appointed beauty queen, made recruits' lives "a living hell." The source added that recruits were called foul names and forced to perform tasks that left some exhausted and bruised.
Kazantsev said she was kicked out for sending an inappropriate email to alumni that may have suggested hazing, but claimed that the email was meant as a joke and was "taken out of context."
"I was asked by a new member educator when I was a senior to reach out to the alumni base, to have an event of sorts. In the email, I basically made a joke and that was taken out of context and was forwarded to the national office," she explained.
The Miss America Organization said Kazantsev was open about her termination from the sorority. Kazantsev, who ran an anti-domestic violence platform, promised to "take this negative and turn it into a positive."
"Kira is an exceptional ambassador for the Miss America Organization and we are excited to be a part of her journey as a force for good across our nation, promoting education and service and working to empower young women," the organization said in a statement.
