Who is Kate Dixon? Miss Teen Washington USA apologizes for using racial slur in viral TikTok 

Miss Teen Washington USA, Kate Dixon, is facing criticism online for using a racial slur. A TikTok of the 17-year-old has surfaced on social media where the pageant winner is mouthing the n-word.

The video was posted on February 8 by the user @juliuspleazerfanaccount and has already been viewed over 11 million times.

Dixon has released an apology explaining the video is three years old, but netizens are not ready to forgive her, demanding officials take action.

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Kate Dixon claims she was coerced into saying the n-word

The TikTok in question shows Dixon announcing, "Kate Dixon, your new Miss Teen Washington USA," the video then cuts and another clip plays where Dixon is sitting in the back of a car and can be clearly heard saying, “Gangster n****r!” before erupting into laughter.

The TikTok continues into another video, this one an old video uploaded by Dixon. In the video, she is with a friend and they take turns lipsyncing to an audio that says, "I only love men when they have money and big c***s.”

In an interview with FOX 13, Kate Dixon explained that the incident is 3 years old, and recorded without her knowledge. She revealed that she was peer-pressured by her seniors into saying the word and didn't want to do it. She said:

“They coerced me into saying a racial slur. I told them ‘no, I don’t want to say that,' I know that it’s not appropriate. And they told me, ‘you have a free pass just this one time, it would be funny.’ So I decided, after much persuasion, I said the word that they wanted me to say and without my knowledge, I was recorded.”

Dixon also revealed that the video was first posted a week after it was shot, and has crept up multiple times in the past:

“Honestly having gone through this experience, I feel like you don’t realize the true meaning of how something can affect you that’s posted online until you’re caught in a situation like mine. Where something negative from your past, because it being on social media, comes to resurface again."

Additionally, she also apologized to everyone who was hurt by her video, saying:

“I think most of all that if they feel offended by this that I am very deeply sorry, that I have learned my lesson and I have not used that word to this day, I have not used that word.”

But her apology hasn't sat well with many internet users who want strict action to be taken against her.

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The internet is not ready to accept Dixon's apology

Internet users have been sharing and tagging Miss Teen USA's social media accounts, asking them to disqualify Dixon and crown the runner up. They believe that she should face consequences for her past mistakes. Here are some of the reactions from Twitter.

However, a representative from Pageants Northwest, the agency that manages Miss Washington Teen USA told FOX 13, that they were already aware of the existence of the video.

They let Kate Dixon compete because the pageant’s goal is to encourage people “to be the best versions of themselves.”