Miss America addresses sorority hazing allegations

The newly-crowned Miss America says she was removed from her college sorority over a letter that made light of hazing, but she denies a report that she was involved in aggressively hazing fellow students.

Kira Kazantsev said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that she was asked to leave the Alpha Phi sorority at Hofstra University after sending an email to alumni that included what she said was a joke about making an event "scary" for pledges.

"I was asked by a new member educator when I was a senior to reach out to the alumni base, to have an event of sorts. In the e-mail, I basically made a joke and that was taken out of context and was forwarded to the national office," she explained.

Jezebel reported Monday, based on an anonymous source, that Kazantsev was involved with aggressively hazing pledges.

Kazantsev says she was hazed as a pledge and that she took part in some hazing activities. She cited a culture of hazing at Hofstra.

The Miss America organization says that Kazantsev was open with them about being terminated from the sorority.

"Kira has been fully transparent with the Miss America Organization about her termination from the Alpha Phi sorority," a spokeswoman 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, including earning a triple major from the Honors College and her commitment to serving her community. 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."