In the final moments of the pageant , Miss California Crystal Lee and Miss New York Nina Davuluri were the last contestants left on the stage . They were approached by co-host Lara Spencer who asked how they were feeling at that moment . Davuluri stated that she and Lee were " both so proud . We ’re making history right here , standing here as Asian-Americans . ” However , shortly after Davuluri was crowned Miss America 2014 , xenophobic and racist comments relating the proximity of the event date to the nine-eleven anniversary and to anti-Indian sentiment appeared in American social media . News agencies cited tweets that misidentified her as Muslim or Arab , associated her with groups such as Al-Qaeda , and questioned why she was chosen over Miss Kansas Theresa Vail . Davuluri said that she was prepared for the social media response because " as Miss New York , I was called a terrorist and very similar remarks . " Davuluri is the second Miss Syracuse to win the title after Miss New York 1983 , Vanessa Lynn Williams who was the first African American winner and Miss America 1984 . Both Davuluri and Williams won when the pageant was held in Atlantic City and both faced a backlash over their respective wins . In addition , Congressperson Grace Meng compared Davuluri to Miss New York 1945 , Bess Myerson ( the first and to date only Jewish-American winner and Miss America 1945 ) who also faced bigotry during her time as Miss America
Miss America 1984
Miss America 1984
Miss America 2014