CNN
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During her one-year stint, the pageant queen attracts a lot of attention, appearing at major events in her official capacity, advocating for important causes, and speaking publicly. . But this week, following the shocking double resignations of Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023 Umasofia Srivastava, just days apart, insiders say the national title holders It depicts a situation in which players are absent from regular duties, the organization is in disarray, and key players are being treated unfairly. They seem unable to voice their experiences and concerns.
The Miss USA organization, which runs both pageants, has come under fire amid accusations of mismanagement, a hostile work environment, and conditions that led to Ms. Vogt's resignation, particularly because her role was affecting her mental health. is bathed in
Srivastava, 16, who was Miss Teen USA's New Jersey representative, issued a statement on Instagram saying her personal values were “completely no longer aligned” with the organization's values. Vogt, 24, who represented Utah, wrote a long message. However, she made a cryptic post citing her mental health. But soon this message spread as an apparently hidden message. The first letter of her first 11 sentences spelled out “I am silent.” (Mr. Vogt has not addressed this speculation since then.)
Following Vogt's announcement, the Miss USA pageant said in a statement: “We respect and support Noelia's decision to step down from her role.” “The titleholder's health is our top priority and we understand that she needs to prioritize herself at this time.” The organization has not responded to CNN's request for further comment. .
In response, many who competed for Miss USA alongside Vogt, including Miss North Carolina USA 2023 Jordyn Ashley McKee, Miss Wisconsin USA 2023 Alexis Lumans, and Miss New York USA Rachelle Di Stasio. The current state title holder shared a message on social media, in which Vogt urged the organization to “permanently release Noelia from the confidentiality NDA clause of her contract and ensure that she is aware of her experiences as Miss USA and her time there.” “Be able to speak freely.”
Mr. Srivastava, Mr. Vogt, and Miss Oregon USA 1994 spokeswoman Dennis White argued that both winners were bound by an “iron-clad” non-disclosure agreement in their contracts.
So far, neither Voigt nor Srivastava have provided details about why they left. But in a resignation letter provided to the Miss USA organization and obtained by CNN, Vogt outlined a number of concerns, ranging from frustrating management issues to more serious allegations. In it, she described a “toxic work environment” with “poor management at best and bullying and harassment at worst.” She accused the pageant's CEO, Leila Rose, of “defaming” Vogt's character, including calling her “mentally ill” in conversations with people inside and outside the organization. Rose is the entrepreneur and CEO of VIP Pageantry Network and took over the brand in 2023.
Vogt said Rose's communication was “cold and unnecessarily aggressive” and she never had a formal meeting about her responsibilities. According to her documents, she was “constantly threatened with disciplinary action, including having her salary taken away” despite a lack of communication about her role.
She wrote that the organization repeatedly failed to arrange travel accommodations for Ms. Vogt, and for months did not provide her with an apartment or car as listed in her award. She also claimed that she did not have a “competent responder,” and that the latter sexually harassed her while she was alone in a car with an anonymous person during a Christmas parade event in Sarasota, Florida. This led to the example Vogt talks about.
According to Vogt's letter, Rose is “actively building a culture of fear and control that is antithetical to women's empowerment. It is … dangerous for future titleholders and employees.” That's what it means.
She also cannot voice her concerns publicly and is “contractually barred from voicing her opinion,” she wrote.
Vogt and Srivastava's respective resignations were not coordinated, White said.
“What I've witnessed is harassment, toxic work conditions, bullying,” White said in a phone interview with CNN. “For a women's organization that aims to uplift women and use and advance women's voices, that's totally objectionable. It's quite the opposite.”
She added that both pageant winners sought assistance from the management of Miss Universe, which owns the Miss USA organization, without success.
“Both young women were always quietly trying to solve problems behind the scenes,” she explained. “The fact that the Miss Universe Organization has not even accepted Noelia's resignation at this point is a real hindrance… No wonder the situation is falling apart, because no one knows what to do.”
The Miss Universe organization and Rose, through Miss USA, did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
Vogt's pageant coach, Tom Brodeur, who has worked with Miss USA contestants since 1991 and began working with Vogt while preparing for Miss Utah, said that under Mr. Rose there was a new and ominous shift for the organization. Emphasized areas. “No woman has ever quit Miss USA or Miss Teen USA, and she lost both within 48 hours,” he said.
White, Brodeur and former Miss USA social media director Claudia Engelhardt, who also recently resigned, said there was turmoil within the organization even before Vogt and Srivastava resigned. Engelhardt worked without pay for two months after being hired, she claimed on Instagram, saying that Vogt's mental state had “deteriorated” and that she had witnessed “disrespect” towards Srivastava and his family.
And they weren't the only members of the Miss USA organization to leave, Engelhardt said. When she started her role in January, she was part of an already small team of five employees. After repeated layoffs and resignations, the team is now down to Rose and one other employee, she says. According to multiple sources, sales are stable.
“This is not a state contest. This is not a local contest. It takes…the whole team,” Engelhardt said in a phone call with CNN.
Engelhardt said she believed she was applying for a freelance job, but was surprised to learn that she had been hired as a staff member. Still, she claimed, she received no employee contract, no onboarding, and no guidance. She said she had no one else to help manage the national brand's day-to-day social media needs and often faced what she framed as Rose's overbearing approach to social accounts.
“She was personally blocking the Instagram accounts of people she had disagreements with. She was censoring comments and leaving them on the Miss USA page as if she were Noelia.” Engelhardt insisted.
White also claimed that Rose impersonated two contest winners on his official account. Weeks before Vogt resigned, she announced in a post on her now-deleted personal Instagram account that her Miss USA page was “no longer accessible.”
Ms. Engelhardt said she viewed Mr. Vogt's role as both a friend and a former colleague, and witnessed firsthand the impact of that role. “I could see how stressed she was when her owner was texting her constantly,” she recalled. “She lived in a constant state of anxiety.”
But despite the daily stress, Vogt claimed she rarely appeared in public. She wrote in her letter that aside from a few press conferences in Los Angeles after winning and a subsequent press conference in Utah, where she represented the Miss USA pageant, she “has yet to appear anywhere other than Sarasota, Florida.” “I have never shown this,” he said. ” where she lived. The cause was a “lack of communication” and she felt “inexplicable,” she wrote.
“Miss USA, who was supposed to be booked and busy with endless opportunities, was sitting around doing nothing. It's not because she doesn't want to do it, it's because of mismanagement,” Engelhardt said. .
On May 9, the Miss USA pageant announced that Savannah Gankiewicz, the 2023 Miss Hawaii USA and runner-up to Vogt in the 2023 Miss USA pageant, will take over the national title and its responsibilities. She will be officially crowned on May 15th.
“I am proud to crown Miss Savannah USA 2023, a true representation of vision, intelligence and compassion,” Rose said in a statement. She said, “Her dedication to empowering women through self-love and confidence is inspiring, and we look forward to her impactful reign as Miss USA.”
“I fully support and respect Noelia's decision to resign, and stand in solidarity with raising awareness of mental health,” Gankiewicz added. “Dear Sisters of Miss USA, we believe in the importance of coming together for the future of our organization and our new students in 2024 and beyond.”
Many people, including Shana Moakler, who oversaw Vogt's victory as the state director of the Miss Utah USA pageant, and Cindy Provost and Debbie Miller, who oversaw Srivastava's victory, have spoken to the two resigning pageant winners. As state directors of the Miss New Jersey Teen USA pageant, both Engelhardt and White have voiced public support for the Miss New Jersey Teen USA pageant. I would like to see more clarification on the culture and potential legal implications.
“They need someone to speak up for them,” White said.