When reigning Miss USA, Noelia Voigt, introduced this week that she could be resigning From her place, she cited her psychological well being and wrote about her gratitude for the chance.
“As people, we develop up experiencing various things in life that lead us to study extra about ourselves,” she wrote on Twitter. Instagram on Monday.
However an inner resignation letter from Voigt to Miss USA management and the Miss Universe Group, obtained Friday by The New York Instances, painted 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 atmosphere inside the Miss USA Group that’s at greatest mismanagement and at worst , is intimidation and harassment.” She additionally complained in her letter that the group had been sluggish to compensate her awards.
The Miss USA Group didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Voigt’s departure triggered no less than two different resignations. UmaSofia Srivastava, Miss Teen USA, announced she was leaving her place on Wednesday. Arianna Lemus, who represented Colorado in Miss USA 2023, stated Friday that she was resigning in solidarity after seeing Voigt’s submit.
“That was a cry for assist,” Lemus, 27, stated in an interview.
The sudden departures have sparked wider hypothesis within the pageant world that the topped winners are legally prohibited from talking freely about their experiences with the Miss USA Group. Lots of Ms. Voigt’s earlier rivals, together with Ms. Lemus, shared an announcement demanding that she be launched from any nondisclosure agreements.
In her resignation letter, Voigt stated she suffered an incident of sexual harassment when, throughout a Christmas parade final 12 months in Sarasota, Florida, a driver made inappropriate feedback to her.
She stated in her letter that the group didn’t help her when she reported the incident.
Voigt wrote that serving as Miss USA took a toll on her well being, including that she now struggled with anxiousness and took remedy to manage her signs.
She stated she started experiencing “coronary heart palpitations, full-body tremors, lack of urge for food, unintentional weight reduction, lack of sleep, hair loss and extra.”
Some folks believed that Voigt’s Instagram submit asserting his resignation contained a secret message. The primary letter of every of the primary 11 sentences of the assertion spells out the phrase “I AM SILENCED,” which some have interpreted as an indication that Ms. Voigt is unable to talk overtly about her expertise.
Simply days after Ms. Voigt’s announcement, Ms. Srivastava, who was topped Miss Teen USA 2023, additionally resigned from his position.
“After cautious consideration, I’ve determined to resign as a result of I’ve found that my private values are not totally aligned with the course of the group,” stated Srivastava, who represented the state of New Jersey within the Miss Teen USA pageant in September. he wrote On Instagram.
His submit included a quote from German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche: “There are not any stunning surfaces with out horrible depth.”
“I do know all of us who love the present need to run out and do one thing,” wrote Laylah Rose, president and chief government of the Miss USA Group, in an e mail to The Instances earlier this week relating to Mrs. USA’s resignations. from Srivastava. “My objective is to supply actually useful steps we will take collectively.”
“Our overarching objective at Miss USA is to have fun and empower girls,” Rose added, saying she was taking “these allegations severely.”
By a consultant, Srivastava and Voigt declined to remark, citing a nondisclosure settlement. (A replica of the Miss USA 2023 contract obtained by The New York Instances seems to bar signatories from disclosing any details about Miss USA whereas employed by the group.)
Following Ms. Voigt’s announcement, a number of of her fellow Miss USA 2023 contestants posted an announcement on Instagram demanding that the Miss USA Group launch Ms. Voigt.
Juliana Morehouse, who competed in Miss USA representing Maine and lives in South Carolina, stated in an interview with The Instances that the letter originated in a bunch chat of two,023 contestants who had been “shocked and saddened” to study of the resignation by Voigt. On a Zoom name, they conveyed the message they wished to share in help of Mrs.
(Ms. Morehouse didn’t present a precise quantity, however stated the variety of girls who wrote and shared the letter represented nearly all of the 51 Miss USA 2023 contestants.)
Cláudia Michelle Engelhardt, who got down from her position as social media director for Miss USA this month, stated she felt Miss USA contestants had been unfairly pressured into signing their contracts.
“It was principally, ‘You must signal this otherwise you will not compete,’” Engelhardt, 24, stated. “You simply labored laborious to get right here. You gained your state. What, you are not going since you do not need to signal a contract? They’re principally holding you hostage, for lack of a greater deadline, to signal that contract.”
Morehouse stated he had “slightly over 24 hours” to assessment the contract.
“I don’t suppose any of us have sought authorized illustration to take a look at it with us,” she stated in an interview with The Instances. “We had by no means heard of such a strict NDA being applied in earlier years as a result of this was the primary 12 months of latest management.” (Ms. Rose turned president of the group final 12 months.)
She emphasised that whereas her private expertise with Miss USA was constructive, she hoped that talking out would make sure that this is able to be the case for all contestants sooner or later.
Lemus, a former Miss Colorado USA, stated she noticed some irony in the best way Miss USA gave the impression to be working.
“This is a company that preaches girls’s empowerment,” she stated.
