New Miss America responds to cruel trolls who made fun of her makeup

The new Miss America has broken her silence to address cruel online outrage over her pageant makeup.

Cassie Donegan, originally Miss New York, was overjoyed with her new title win until she faced backlash over her choice of concealer.

The 28-year-old told FOX News: ‘When something big like this happens there’s going to be many opinions… everyone has the right to their own opinion in such a big public forum like the internet.’

Donegan believes ‘their opinion is their truth’ and will not let the judgment cloud her win.

However, the pageant winner is not totally immune to the critics.

She told PEOPLE just because she respects others’ opinions does not mean she wants negative comments about her appearance.

Cassie Donegan, 28, was overjoyed with her Miss America beauty pageant win, but she quickly faced cruel backlash from online trolls critiquing her makeup look

Critics ridiculed Donegan for wearing the wrong shade of concealer

The beauty queen acknowledges that ‘people have the right to their opinion to be able to share that, and no one’s going to be everyone’s favorite all of the time’

‘People have the right to their opinion to be able to share that, and no one’s going to be everyone’s favorite all of the time.’

Critics online taunted Donegan for wearing the wrong shade of concealer in a video shared by the official Miss America account.

‘Congrats love! Let’s get you a new makeup artist,’ one user wrote.

‘Love it but we need to have someone fix her concealer. It’s a bit too white and drowns her out,’ another person said.

Some even jeered the first runner-up beauty queen, Miss Texas Sadie Schiermeyer, should have won instead.

Donegan is redirecting her attention to being a role model for younger girls. Her goal is to uplift and motivate others by proving that if she can do it, so can they.

She said: ‘I want them to believe in themselves, because if they don’t, no one else will. Empowerment really comes from within.

‘If there’s even a small part of me that brings that spark out of them, then I’ve done my part. That will be something I will be grateful to be a part of.’

Donegan came top of the weekend’s competition, which featured 52 women representing all 50 states, the District of Colombia and Puerto Rico.

Donegan is redirecting her attention to being a role model for younger girls, her goal is to uplift and motivate others

Donegan shared: ‘I want them to believe in themselves, because if they don’t, no one else will. Empowerment really comes from within’

Donegan beat 51 women in the weekend’s competition and won a $50,000 tuition scholarship

She was crowned by the previous winner, Abbie Stockard from Alabama, and spoke about the importance of being true to yourself

She was crowned by the previous winner, Abbie Stockard from Alabama. She won a $50,000 tuition scholarship as part of her prize.

Donegan spoke about the importance of being true to yourself during her rapid-answer round, discussing ‘authentic self-expressions’ in professional settings.

‘I think that no one has the right to tell you what you can do with your own body. This is your vessel, and you should be able to walk around proudly in it.’

‘Miss America has always been a powerful springboard for ambitious women to turn their dreams into reality,’ she said in a press release.

Donegan is a singer and actor and won an award for her vocal gifts after the Miss America 2026 Talent Competition.