Jan. 2 (UPI) — Former Fox News host and Miss America 1989 Gretchen Carlson will take over as the chairwoman of the Miss America pageant’s board of directors.
Carlson was named to the position alongside three other former Miss America winners joining the board including Laura Kaeppeler Fleiss who won in 2012, Heather French Henry who won in 2000 and Kate Shindle who won in 1998, The New York Times reported.
The new board members will lead Miss America after three executives including executive chairman and CEO Sam Haskell, president and COO Josh Randle and chairman Lynn Weidner resigned recently amid a leaked email scandal.
The scandal included three years of email exchanges within the organization being published online. The documents contained offensive emails about former Miss America winners, referencing their weight and private sex lives.
“Everyone has been stunned by the events of the last several days, and this has not been easy for anyone who loves this program,” Carlson said in a statement. “In the end, we all want a strong, relevant Miss America and we appreciate the existing board taking the steps necessary to quickly begin stabilizing the organization for the future.”
Carlson is the first former Miss America winner to serve as chairwoman of the pageant’s board of directors.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.