A week ago, America crowned former Planned Parenthood intern and trilingual Kira Kazantsev as our "Miss." Kazantsev, who moved to New York to attend Long Island's Hofstra University, and thus represented the Empire State in the Miss America competition, once lived in Walnut Creek. Because of that connection, the Bay Area would also like to take credit for her skills and appearance.
Not so fast, Bay Area!
Jezebel has uncovered information that Kazantsev was head of recruitment for Hofstra's Alpha Phi sorority, where she made pledges lives "a living hell."
Kazantsev was apparently so hard on Alpha Phi's pledges that she was kicked out of Alpha Phi. You guys. She was KICKED OUT OF ALPHA PHI.
According to Jezebel, "When someone reported Kazantsev and her friend for 'dirty pledging,' Hofstra didn't turn a blind eye. After a months-long investigation into their actions, our source says, the pair was expelled from Alpha Phi in late 2013 and told they could no longer participate in any sorority activities, including the end-of-year formal. Kira and her bestie attended the formal, anyway, but had to sneak in with their dates."
Right now, Kirsten Dunst is pitching this story to her agent.
Now sounding like someone who definitely made fun of you behind your back that time you had a full-fat muffin for breakfast, Kazantsev retains the support of the Miss America Organization, which is basically one giant hazing event to begin with.
"Kira has been fully transparent with the Miss America Organization about her termination from the Alpha Phi sorority. It's unfortunate that this incident has been exploited to create a storyline that distracts from what we should be focusing on "
No, the storyline we should be focusing on is HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver", which charmingly investigates Miss America's claims to be the world's largest provider of scholarships for women.
Just to balance out our reporting, here are some fun tips on what to wear for sorority recruiters like Kira:
When confronted with the Jezebel allegations, Kazantsev admitted to Good Morning America that she was kicked out "after sending an email to alumni that included what she said was a joke about making an event 'scary' for pledges," but denied directly participating in any aggressive hazing of students.
“At that time, unfortunately, that was just the culture of the university," Kazantsev said, a line reminiscent of that elderly racist relative who ruins every family holiday.
According to Jezebel reporter Erin Gloria Ryan, though, the worst on Kazantsev is yet to come. Noting that GMA only had Kazantsev "on to deliver her talking points to a sympathetic anchor on the TV home of Miss America" (ABC broadcasts both GMA and the beauty pageant), Ryan says that since their report ran "we've learned more, and...things are still developing on our end."
