A GRAND Bahama beauty queen had to relinquish her title after a social media post caused a stir online and offended Bahamians.

Evena Gibson was ensnared in controversy after she posted a photo to Instragram with the caption, “Ha ha not a Bahamian sorry . . . too gorgeous to be, big uppp my Zoes (sic),” a reference to her Haitian heritage. The caption also had emojis of Haitian flags.

Condemnation on social media was swift with many calling for Ms Gibson, 17, to be stripped of her title.

One person wrote on Facebook: “So the woman who will be representing The Bahamas all over the world and is supposed to be an ambassador for our country doesn’t even claim The Bahamas? How does that work?”

The teen later apologised for the remarks.

Yesterday, however, The Miss Grand Beauty Pageant Organisation released a statement on the controversy, announcing Ms Gibson no longer held her title.

“The reigning Miss Grand Bahama 2018 has relinquished the crown. It is important to uphold the integrity of the organisation which has been in existence for the past 30 years. We have become a diverse country, but in order to be a part of our pageant one must be a Bahamian citizen and proud of this country that has become a melting pot of a multitude of cultures.

“Our queens are some of the most distinguished ambassadors of our country, who have put country, pride and community first. This has been a very unfortunate situation that we hope will never be repeated.”