This beauty queen is apparently already over the hill at 24.
A Miss America contestant who was crowned Miss Delaware earlier this month has been stripped of her crown because at almost 25, she’s apparently too old to compete.
Amanda Longacare is not allowed to take part in the big pageant because contestants must be 17 to 24 years old — but can’t turn 25 in their yearlong reign should they win.
“This past Tuesday I was sat down and told that I could not compete and go to Miss America due to an age clause,” Longacare told The News Journal of Wilmington, Del.
She said she’d been led to believe she could take part because she’d still be 24 at the time of the national competition in Atlantic City this September. Officials instead stripped Longacare of her state crown since she will be turning 25 in October.
“They had my birth certificate, my Social Security card, my driver’s license, they had my birthday on numerous amounts of documents,” she told the News-Journal.
Longacare must now forfeit about $11,000 in scholarships she had received from local and state competitions. She will also be forced to forfeit her yearlong Miss Delaware contract and her contract to compete in the national contest.
Pageant officials moved quickly to fill the gap created by Longacare’s disqualification, replacing her with Miss Delaware first runner-up Brittany Lewis, who has already been crowned in her place.
“I feel like I’m being erased,” Longacare said as she fought back tears.
The Miss Delaware website, where pictures of her and other contestants were posted early Thursday, went blank later that afternoon.
A message on the site read, “The Miss Delaware Website is currently being updated. Please check back soon.”