Miss Teen USA winner Karlie Hay will be allowed to keep her crown after tweets that included racist language were discovered on her private Twitter account. Hay, 18, from Tomball, Texas, won the Miss Teen USA competition Saturday night prompting an outcry online regarding the tweets from 2013 and 2014, some of which allegedly included the n-word. Hay responded through her Instagram and new Twitter handle @RealMissTXQueen writing, “I admit that I have used language publicly in the past which I am not proud of and that there is no excuse for. Through hard work, education and thanks in large part to the sisterhood that I have come to know through pageants, I am proud to say that I am today a better person.’’ The Miss Universe Organization, which oversees the Miss Teen USA pageant, denounced the racist language, but say it does not plan to revoke Hay’s crown, writing that they “are committed to supporting her continued growth.’’

Carly Sitrin can be reached at carly.sitrin@globe.com