Maine Lobster Festival issues apology to teen stripped of Sea Goddess crown
"It is my hope that the new leadership team will have the support of the community to make the 2019 Maine Lobster Festival a success."
The Maine Lobster Festival issued an apology this week to the teen who has said she was forced to relinquish the 2018 Sea Goddess crown over photos of her on social media. Twenty-four hours after Taylor Hamlin, 18, was announced as the winner of the pageant at the Maine festival in August, it was announced she was stepping down. Organizers said at the time that photos of “inappropriate behavior” were brought to the attention of the board of directors, which decided the photos were “not in keeping with the behavior and image of the Maine Sea Goddess” and Hamlin decided to resign her crown.Hamlin has maintained that she was forced to step down after photos of her holding a marijuana cigarette and a Juul, a vaping device, were emailed to the competition officials.“Everybody is a teen once and awhile,” Hamlin wrote on Facebook at the time. “I’m sorry to whoever didn’t receive the goddess they wanted and felt the need to sabotage this amazing thing that has happened to me.”
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1924219920949384&set=a.204364166268310&type=3
The controversy sparked backlash that led to officials saying they received threatening messages over the imbroglio.
On Wednesday, the festival’s board of directors announced a change in its leadership and issued an apology to Hamlin and her family.
New board president Celia Knight said in a statement she and her colleagues “listened” to the community and that the new leadership at the festival is just “one of many changes” that are coming.
“These changes come in part as a result of the 2018 Sea Goddess Coronation,” she said. “We ask everyone to understand that as a group of volunteers we worked as fast as we could to gather information and follow the policies and protocol that we have in place. As a Board we are continuing to work together to improve. We would also like to offer our sincere apology to Taylor Hamlin and her family, as well as the community for the events that occurred at the 2018 Festival. It is my hope that the new leadership team will have the support of the community to make the 2019 Maine Lobster Festival a success.”
Through the festival, the Hamlin family released their own statement saying they “appreciate” the new steps being taken by the board “to make this situation right.”
“Our family has always supported the Maine Lobster Festival, its volunteers, and everything they do to give back to the community,” they said. “We look forward to the 2019 Festival.”
