Zara Holland, who was crowned Miss Great Britain 2015/2016, has been stripped of her title after engaging in sexual activities on the ITV2 show Love Island.
In a statement posted on Thursday evening from Miss Great Britain's official Twitter account, the organisation expressed "deep regret" at having to dethrone Holland. It said it "cannot promote Zara as a positive role model".
"We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title," the organisation said.
She will no longer compete in the Miss World competition and runner-up Deone Robertson will go in her place.
A spokesperson for the show told The Telegraph Holland had not yet been informed of the decision.
This isn't the first time a winner has been stripped of their Miss Great Britain accolade. In 2006, Danielle Lloyd had to hand back her crown after appearing in an issue of Playboy.
The entry requirements stipulate that contestants "must not have posed nude or topless in any publication".
After the statement was posted, many people expressed their anger about the decision.
@Official_MissGB THATS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE. SHE IS A WOMAN. SHE CAN DO WHAT SHE WANT. ITS A NATURAL THING THAT HAPPENS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE
This is so sad, no longer miss GB because she did something HUMAN! https://t.co/FOBTh5auzD
Many people have accused the organisation of being sexist.
Pageants like this are built on sexism and respectability politics so this isn't surprising or unheard of tbh. https://t.co/BZlXe5Y9N1
representative of "modern society" but doesn't understand equality of the sexes?????????????????????????????? https://t.co/AK3dkQqqHT
@candyfl0sscloud @Official_MissGB I think they've done that themselves today. They're slut shaming THEIR crowned Miss GB #LoveIsland
The presenter of Love Island, Caroline Flack, tweeted about the decision last night. "Are we living in the dark ages?" she asked.
Feel even more sorry for Zara now she's been de-crowned. She's a very sweet girl . What even is 'miss GB' ? Are we living in the dark ages ?
After the backlash it received, the organisation was quick to stress on social media that the decision was based on the grounds that Holland engaged in sexual activities on national TV.
To be clear we have no problem at all with sex-it is perfectly natural.We simply can't condone what happened on national tv