Vanessa Williams has received a public apology from the Miss America organisers more than three decades after she was forced to resign the title.
The 52-year-old became the first black woman to be named Miss America in 1983, but handed back the crown months later after Penthouse published nude photographs of her without her consent.
Williams, who later forged a career as a singer and actress on stage and TV, was invited to serve as head judge on the competition this year.
Sam Haskell, executive chairman of the Miss America pageant, apologised for the way the then executive committee handled the publication of the photographs, which had been taken several years earlier.
He said: "I have been a close friend to this beautiful and talented lady for 32 years.
"You have lived your life in grace and dignity, and never was it more evident than during the events of 1984 when you resigned.
"Though none of us currently in the organisation were involved then, on behalf of today's organisation, I want to apologise to you and to your mother, Miss Helen Williams.
"I want to apologise for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less than the Miss America you are and the Miss America you will always be."
Speaking on stage, Williams said she "did the best I could" during the scandal.
After the pageant, she added: "I want to thank everyone who has come up to me over the past 32 years and said, 'You'll always be MY Miss America'.
"I got a chance to be on the stage and represent what I represented back in 1984. Thank you so much for being so welcome to me."
Williams has sold more than seven million records since her 1988 debut album The Right Stuff.
She won a Golden Globe, Grammy and an Oscar for Best Original Song for Colors Of The Wind from the Disney film Pocahontas.
She has also been nominated at the Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards throughout her career.
Williams also starred in the TV shows Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives, as well as in Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful alongside Cicely Tyson and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell was crowned Miss America on Sunday at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, beating 51 other competitors on the televised pageant.
She won a $50,000 scholarship along with her title.
Vanessa Williams has received a public apology from the Miss America organisers more than three decades after she was forced to resign the title.
The 52-year-old became the first black woman to be named Miss America in 1983, but handed back the crown months later after Penthouse published nude photographs of her without her consent.
Williams, who later forged a career as a singer and actress on stage and TV, was invited to serve as head judge on the competition this year.
Sam Haskell, executive chairman of the Miss America pageant, apologised for the way the then executive committee handled the publication of the photographs, which had been taken several years earlier.
He said: "I have been a close friend to this beautiful and talented lady for 32 years.
"You have lived your life in grace and dignity, and never was it more evident than during the events of 1984 when you resigned.
"Though none of us currently in the organisation were involved then, on behalf of today's organisation, I want to apologise to you and to your mother, Miss Helen Williams.
"I want to apologise for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less than the Miss America you are and the Miss America you will always be."
Speaking on stage, Williams said she "did the best I could" during the scandal.
After the pageant, she added: "I want to thank everyone who has come up to me over the past 32 years and said, 'You'll always be MY Miss America'.
"I got a chance to be on the stage and represent what I represented back in 1984. Thank you so much for being so welcome to me."
Williams has sold more than seven million records since her 1988 debut album The Right Stuff.
She won a Golden Globe, Grammy and an Oscar for Best Original Song for Colors Of The Wind from the Disney film Pocahontas.
She has also been nominated at the Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards throughout her career.
Williams also starred in the TV shows Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives, as well as in Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful alongside Cicely Tyson and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell was crowned Miss America on Sunday at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, beating 51 other competitors on the televised pageant.
She won a $50,000 scholarship along with her title.
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