Noelia Voigt, last year’s winner of the Miss USA pageant, resigned her position this week and is now alleging she suffered from “bullying and harassment” during her tenure.
In her resignation letter, which was obtained by multiple news outlets, Noelia Voigt singled out Laylah Rose, the president and CEO of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organizations, alleging that Rose is “actively building a culture of fear and control, the antithesis of women’s empowerment, that is causing a toxic workplace that is unsafe for future titleholders and employees.”
Her surprise resignation was followed by another resignation this week — Miss Teen USA 2023 winner UmaSofia Srivastava, who said on social media that her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”
UmaSofia Srivastava attends the Smile Train 25th Anniversary Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 08, 2024 in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Smile Train)
The dual resignations have sent shock waves through the beauty pageant world, throwing into question the future of the long-running Miss USA and Miss Teen USA competitions, which date back to 1952.
Noelia Voigt, 24, wrote in her letter that she was “made to feel unsafe” at events she attended during her reign, which “culminated in being sexually harassed at the 2023 Sarasota Christmas Parade.”
She also claimed Rose “was generally inaccessible for communication,” didn’t offer her support, and allegedly “slandered” her.
As result, Voigt wrote, her mental health has suffered significantly.
“It is important that I make this abundantly clear: the toll that this treatment, experience, and abuse has taken on me will have long-lasting impacts on my health,” she wrote. “This is unfortunately not something that will magically disappear. I know the harsh reality of that fact, and I will not continue to allow myself to feel victimized anymore.”
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