Miss Michigan defends controversial tweets that cost her title

Kathy Zhu, crowned Miss Michigan in 2019 by the Miss World America organization who was recently stripped of her title for social media posts deemed “offensive, insensitive and inappropriate,” defended her controversial posts Monday.

While appearing on CNN’s “New Day” Monday, Zhu said she didn’t see her tweets as offensive and said they were taking out of context.

{mosads}“Everything I posted was my statistics and opinions and I think we should be empowering women’s voices and not stripping them of their title only because of their opinions,” she said.

Zhu’s past controversial comments resurfaced last week after she posted a screenshot of a message she received from Miss World America officials, who told her she was dismissed from being a pageant participant and stripped of her title.

“I don’t think anything I said was remotely wrong,” she said. “I stand by every tweet that I post.” 

Miss Michigan Kathy Zhu was recently stripped of her title over several offensive tweets. She is defending her posts criticizing a ‘try a hijab on’ booth at her college and another post in which she responded to a tweet about Black Lives Matter and officer-involved shootings pic.twitter.com/ifaQfCGo7M

— New Day (@NewDay) July 22, 2019

Zhu is an outspoken supporter of President Trump and often gives political commentary through her Twitter account.

In 2018, she approached a Muslim Student Association booth and declined to wear a hijab, later tweeting that “there is a ‘try a hijab on’ booth at my college campus.”

“So you’re telling me that it’s now just a fashion accessory and not a religious thing?” she tweeted, according to the Detroit Free Press. “Or are you just trying to get women used to being oppressed under Islam?”

She also reportedly replied to a Twitter user in a comment saying: “Did you know the majority of black deaths are caused by other blacks? Fix problems within your own community before blaming others.”

The tweets have since been deleted.

Zhu sparred with CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota several times throughout the interview as Camerota highlighted how some people could perceive her posts as offensive.

“Again, this is taken fully out of context and if you actually think that statistics and facts are racist, I don’t know what to tell you,” she said.