Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2016 has been stripped of her crown after appearing too moody in an interview.

Kristhielee Caride, who was to represent the territory in this year’s pageant, was told to hand in her sash after giving an interview for a local newspaper in which she allegedly appeared dismissive, and said she did not love cameras.

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National Director of the pageant Desiree Lowry stood by the board’s decision, saying press was a big part of the job.

Ms Caride did not elaborate on her personal situation. Photo: Twitter

“You always have to put your best face forward … it’s a given that we are going to be in front of cameras and that we have to answer all types of questions,” she told media.

The director said Ms Caride had also cancelled a number of appearances, citing a doctor’s appointment she could not reschedule.

But the Puerto Rican beauty denied the claims in an emotional Facebook post on Friday (AEST).

“Beauty Queens we are not exempt from having a bad day,” Ms Caride wrote in Spanish.

“In the past few days I went through a number of personal situations and yet I did the commitments stipulated in my schedule.”

The beauty queen went on to apologise for any hurt she had caused her fans, and any damage she’d caused the pageant, saying she hoped the incident served as a lesson to future girls.

“I allowed my feelings to get in the way of my work,” she said, hinting at but not revealing the personal situation.

In Ms Caride’s place, Brenda Jimenez was crowned the new Miss Puerto Rico on Thursday during a press conference.

New contestant Brenda Azaria Jiménez was crowned in a press conference on Thursday. Photo: Facebook

It’s not the first time a Miss Puerto Rico has been fired before they made it to the world stage.

In 1994, Miss Puerto Rico contestant Brenda Robles was dropped after it was revealed she was pregnant.

Aside from the common criticism that the pageant is an outdated concept, there have also been a couple of incidents in recent years that have called its relevance into question.

In December 2015, the pageant was embroiled in controversy when the wrong winner was crowned on live television.

Host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner, before he was forced to clarify that Miss Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, was the true champion.

Miss Colombia had the crown removed from her head as the crown looked on in shock.

Also in 2015, American channel NBC announced it would refuse to air the pageant on its station after owner Donald Trump’s discriminatory statements about Mexican people.