Miss America Kira Kazantsev Fights Back Over Allegations She Was Kicked Out Of Sorority For Brutally Hazing Pledges

Kira Kazantsev may be the epitome of kindness and grace as the new Miss America, but just over a year ago, she was reportedly anything but nice to the students trying to pledge her college sorority. According to an explosive new report by the website Jezebel, Kira was kicked out of the Alpha Phi sorority at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, for hazing the sorority’s incoming pledges in April 2013. The website’s source, a former pledge that claims to have been personally hazed by Kira, said that the former Miss New York and her best friend were “exceptionally harsh” towards the pledges.

Kira, who at the time was serving as the sorority’s Recruitment Committee President, and her best friend made the girls’ lives “a living hell,” according to the former pledge. “Under Kira's supervision, according to the source, pledges in the incoming class were called names, berated for their perceived physical flaws and imperfections, and made to perform physical tasks to the point of bruising and exhaustion,” the site reports.

Kira and her friend were eventually reported for practicing hazing, which is strictly forbidden at Hofstra University. The girls were expelled from the sorority in late 2013, but Kira was allowed to continue her education there. She graduated in 2013. However the beauty queen has fought back, in an apologetic blog where she holds her hands up to her controversial past. In the post titled The Reality of Miss America, she writes: "Because what type of role model would I be if I told people, young women especially, that you can’t make mistakes?" she says. "That’s not real life.

“I was never involved with any name-calling or use of profanity toward a girl during my time with the sorority. 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." She insists that reports of “so-called hazing” are totally inaccurate and points the finger at her friends in the sorority, adding that “my class thought the only way to gain respect in the sorority was to go through it or be seen as weak.”

Kira Kazanstev responds to claims of "hazing" (WENN)

In the blog which devotes itself to spreading awareness of domestic violence, she says: “I was one of those girls who fell victim not only to the abuse of an intimate partner but the abuse of people who I thought were my friends. In response, I imposed that attitude unto others because I thought it was right."

While Kira’s sorority mishap had been kept under wraps until now, the Miss America organization told Jezebel that they were aware of the incident and that Kira had been very honest about what happened. “Kira has been fully transparent with the Miss America Organization about her termination from the Alpha Phi sorority,” the organization said in a statement.

“It's unfortunate that this incident has been exploited to create a storyline that distracts from what we should be focusing on: Kira's impressive academic achievements at Hofstra University...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. “

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