Miss Universe Paulina Vega Defends Her Crown, Calls Donald Trump’s Tweet ‘Comical’

Miss Universe Paulina Vega called Donald Trump’s tweet “comical” on Monday after he attacked her for keeping the crown although her home country Columbia had retracted its bid to host the pageant. Trump had called her a “hypocrite” for not giving up the crown.

In an interview with Latina magazine, the 22-year-old Columbian beauty said that her stance on Trump's racial remarks was, in no way, related to her crown. "It doesn't make any sense that Donald Trump calls me a hypocrite because I'm not giving up my crown,” she told the lifestyle magazine.

“I have a legally binding contract and legal relationship with the organization and it’s not so easy for me, like the artists have done, to renounce and say, ‘No. I’m not working for you anymore.’... So it’s a much more complicated situation, but we have to understand that Trump is a very polemic person,” she added.

The verbal clash between the 69-year-old U.S. presidential candidate and Vega started after she criticized Trump's comments on Mexicans last week. In an Instagram post, Vega wrote that Trump’s comments were "unjust and hurtful." To this, Trump, who holds a stake in the Miss Universe Organization, responded by calling her a “hypocrite.”

In his presidential campaign announcement speech on June 16, Trump reportedly said that Mexican immigrants are "bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people."

Following his comments, Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin canceled his Miss USA performance and pop singer Ricky Martin, 43, slammed him on Twitter. Martin tweeted in Spanish, which translates to: "There’s much hatred and ignorance in your heart @realDonaldTrump #LatinosUnidos."