Inside Miss USA Turmoil: A Leaked Letter and String of Resignations
When the reigning Miss USA, Noelia Voigt, introduced this week she can be resigning from her place, she cited her psychological well being and wrote about her gratitude for the chance.
“As people, we develop by way of experiencing various things in life that lead us to studying extra about ourselves,” she wrote on Instagram on Monday.
However an inner resignation letter by Ms. Voigt to Miss USA management and the Miss Universe Group, obtained on Friday by The New York Instances, offered a a lot darker image.
Within the eight-page letter, Ms. Voigt, who represented the state of Utah and was topped in September, described “a poisonous work surroundings inside the Miss USA Group that, at finest, is poor administration and, at worst, is bullying and harassment.” She additionally complained in her letter that the group had delayed making good on her prize winnings.
The Miss USA Group didn’t reply to request for remark.
Ms. Voigt’s departure has spurred at the very least two different resignations. UmaSofia Srivastava, Miss Teen USA, introduced she was stepping down from her function on Wednesday. Arianna Lemus, who represented Colorado at Miss USA in 2023, mentioned on Friday she was resigning in solidarity after seeing Ms. Voigt’s put up.
“That was a name to assist,” Ms. Lemus, 27, mentioned in an interview.
The sudden departures have touched off wider hypothesis within the pageant world that topped winners are legally barred from talking freely about their experiences with the Miss USA Group. Lots of Ms. Voigt’s previous rivals, together with Ms. Lemus, shared a press release demanding that she be launched from any nondisclosure agreements.
In her resignation letter, Ms. Voigt mentioned she skilled an incident of sexual harassment when, throughout a Christmas parade final yr in Sarasota, Fla., a driver made inappropriate feedback towards her.
She mentioned in her letter that the group didn’t assist her when she reported the incident.
Ms. Voigt went on to write down that serving as Miss USA took a toll on her well being, including that she now struggled with anxiousness and took remedy to handle her signs.
She mentioned she had begun experiencing “coronary heart palpitations, full physique shakes, lack of urge for food, unintentional weight reduction, lack of sleep, lack of hair and extra.”
Some folks believed Ms. Voigt’s Instagram put up asserting her resignation contained a secret message. The primary letter of every of the primary 11 sentences of the assertion spell the phrase “I AM SILENCED,” which some have interpreted as a sign that Ms. Voigt is unable to talk brazenly about her expertise.
Only a few days after Ms. Voigt’s announcement, Ms. Srivastava, who was topped Miss Teen USA in 2023, additionally resigned from her put up.
“After cautious consideration, I’ve determined to resign as I discover that my private values not absolutely align with the course of the group,” Ms. Srivastava, who represented the state of New Jersey on the Miss Teen USA pageant in September, wrote on Instagram.
Her put up included a quote from the German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche: “There are not any stunning surfaces with out a horrible depth.”
“I do know all of us who love this system wish to rush out and do one thing,” Laylah Rose, the president and chief government of the Miss USA Group, wrote in an e mail to The Instances earlier this week, concerning Ms. Voigt’s and Ms. Srivastava’s resignations. “My aim is to supply actually useful steps we will take collectively.”
“Our all-encompassing aim at Miss USA is to have a good time and empower girls,” Ms. Rose added, saying she was taking “these allegations critically.”
By means of a consultant, each Ms. Srivastava and Ms. Voigt declined to remark, citing a nondisclosure settlement. (A replica of the 2023 Miss USA contract obtained by The New York Instances seems to bar signees from disclosing any details about Miss USA whereas employed by the group.)
After Ms. Voigt’s announcement, a number of of her fellow Miss USA 2023 rivals posted a press release on Instagram demanding that the Miss USA Group launch Ms. Voigt from any such settlement.
Juliana Morehouse, who competed at Miss USA representing Maine and lives in South Carolina, mentioned in an interview with The Instances that the letter originated in a gaggle chat of 2023 members who have been “shocked and saddened” to listen to of Ms. Voigt’s resignation. On a Zoom name, they hashed out the message they needed to share in assist of Ms. Voigt.
(Ms. Morehouse didn’t present a precise determine however mentioned the variety of girls who wrote and shared the letter comprised a majority of the 51 rivals at Miss USA in 2023.)
Claudia Michelle Engelhardt, who stepped down from her function as social media director for Miss USA this month, mentioned she felt the Miss USA members have been unfairly pressured into signing their contracts.
“It was just about, ‘You need to signal this otherwise you’re not going to compete,’” Ms. Engelhardt, 24, mentioned. “You simply labored your butt off to get right here. You gained your state. What, are you not going to go since you don’t wish to signal a contract? They’re mainly holding you hostage, for lack of a greater time period, to signal this contract.”
Ms. Morehouse mentioned she was given “just a little over 24 hours” to assessment the contract.
“I don’t suppose any of us sought authorized illustration to assessment it with us,” she mentioned in an interview with The Instances. “We had by no means heard of such an ironclad NDA being applied in earlier years, as a result of this was the primary yr of the brand new management.” (Ms. Rose turned president of the group final yr.)
She emphasised that whereas her private expertise with Miss USA was a constructive one, she hoped talking out would make sure that was the case for all members sooner or later.
Ms. Lemus, the previous Miss Colorado USA, mentioned she noticed some irony in how Miss USA gave the impression to be working.
“This is a corporation that preaches girls’s empowerment,” she mentioned.
