Vanessa Williams -- Apology Accepted ... Miss America Smooths Things Over

Vanessa Williams and the Miss America Pageant just kissed and made up, more than 30 years after Williams was forced to hand over her crown.

The show opened Sunday night with Miss America CEO Sam Haskell apologizing to Williams and her mother Helen. Haskell noted that while none of the execs still with the pageant forced Vanessa to lose her crown, he still wanted to apologize for, "anything that was said or done" to her in 1984.

You might remember, Williams was forced to resign as Miss America after nude, girl-on-girl pics of her surfaced.

TMZ broke the story ... M.A. execs were in meltdown mode this week planning for Williams' appearance. They were under the impression she would be apologizing -- but it looks like they bit the bullet.

However, Vanessa didn't receive a new crown -- just a good-ole-fashioned apology.