Miss USA and Miss Teen USA might have non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) conserving them silent, however their moms are talking out on their behalf and accusing the pageant group of abuse and bullying.
For the final week, the American pageant world has been rocked by the sudden twin resignations of each Noelia Voigt, ex-Miss USA, and UmaSofia Srivastava, ex-Miss Teen USA.
It’s already exceptional for a titleholder to present again her crown, however hypothesis in regards to the resignations solely grew when eagle-eyed followers observed a attainable secret message in Noelia’s May 6 social media submit about her determination to stop. When seen as an acrostic, the primary letters of the 11 sentences in her assertion spell, “I am silenced.”
UmaSofia resigned days after Noelia, claiming “my personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”
During a Tuesday look on Good Morning America, Noelia’s mom, Jackeline Voigt, stated her daughter is certainly silenced, and can proceed to be if her NDA is just not lifted.
Jackeline declined to reply whether or not or not Noelia’s acrostic was intentional.
“The job of their dreams turned out to be a nightmare,” Barbara Srivastava, UmaSofia’s mom, stated. “We could not continue this charade.”
Both Jackeline and Barbara stated their daughters had by no means struggled with their psychological well being earlier than profitable their respective pageant titles. The moms allege their daughters have been bullied whereas employed by the Miss Universe Organization, which owns Miss USA.
“She was so upset,” Jackeline stated of Noelia, 24. “This is just not what she labored so exhausting for.
“The Miss Universe Organization needs to come out and speak to us, or apologize.”
Barbara stated UmaSofia, 17, was mistreated by the Miss Universe Organization and had her private social media accounts surveilled earlier than her resignation. She stated after seeing Noelia’s resignation, UmaSofia knew she needed to return her crown too.
“It’s not about what they didn’t get,” Barbara stated. “It’s about how they were ill-treated, abused, bullied and cornered.”
Both mother and father advised Good Morning America that Noelia and UmaSofia are silenced by confidentiality clauses of their contracts with the Miss Universe Organization.
Jackeline and Barbara need Miss USA CEO Laylah Rose to step down from her place.
The moms stated they are not looking for different ladies and ladies to expertise the identical mistreatment they allege their daughters confronted. They known as for an finish to participation in all Miss USA-affiliated pageants.
“We just don’t want these families and these girls to go through what we’re going through,” Jackeline stated.
The Miss USA Organization advised ABC News, “We are committed to fostering a healthy, communicative and supportive environment for all contestants, state titleholders, national titleholders and staff.”
Miss USA’s resignation letter
In Noelia’s resignation letter to the Miss Universe Organization, which was revealed by a number of media shops within the days after her announcement, the previous titleholder accused CEO Rose of making and permitting a “toxic work environment.”
“There is a toxic work environment within the Miss USA organization that, at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment,” Noelia wrote in her letter. “This started soon after winning the title of Miss USA 2023.”
Noelia stated after changing into Miss USA, she was recognized with nervousness and was later medicated. She allegedly additionally skilled flare-ups of a pre-existing medical situation that’s worsened by stress, leaving her with “heart palpitations, full body shakes, loss of appetite, unintentional weight loss, loss of sleep, loss of hair, and more.”
She known as Rose “often cold and unnecessarily aggressive.”
“It’s incredibly jarring to be trying to do my job and constantly be threatened with disciplinary action, including taking away my salary, for things that were never discussed with me and, if it related to a public-facing post for example, were causing no issue other than not meeting her personal preference,” she continued.
She didn’t present particular examples of when disciplinary motion was threatened.
In her letter, Noelia recounted an incident by which she allegedly confronted sexual harassment at a Christmas parade in Florida. She stated whereas she was alone within the automotive with a person, he “made several inappropriate statements to me about his desire to enter into a relationship with me.”
Jackeline stated Noelia was requested by the person if she is “into old men with money.”
“I was made to feel unsafe at events without an effective handler, and this culminated in being sexually harassed,” Noelia wrote.
When Noelia confronted Rose in regards to the incident, she was allegedly advised the group couldn’t “prevent people from saying things to you at public events” and was not supplied any help. Noelia claimed Rose advised her the sexual harassment “is, unfortunately, part of the role you’re in as a public figure.”
Noelia’s resignation letter contained a number of different allegations in opposition to Rose, specifically that she “weaponized” Noelia’s psychological well being struggles and known as the sweetness queen “‘mentally ill’ in a derogatory way.”
Rose advised NBC News that “the well-being of all individuals associated with Miss USA is my top priority.”
“All along, my personal goal as the head of this organization has been to inspire women to always create new dreams, have the courage to explore it all, and continue to preserve integrity along the way,” she stated. “I hold myself to these same high standards and I take these allegations seriously.”
Rose didn’t clarify particularly which allegations she was referring to.
