Craig Barritt/Getty Images
The mothers of former Miss USA 2023 Noelia Vogt and Miss Teen USA 2023 Uma Sophia Srivastava have slammed the high-profile pageant, saying their daughters, who resigned earlier this month, were “abused, mistreated, bullied and cornered.” “It is being done,” he claimed. Good morning, America.
Mr. Vogt and Mr. Srivastava abruptly resigned within days. Vogt was the first person to step down citing mental health reasons in a public statement shared on Instagram. However, her internal resignation letter (leaked) new york times), she accused the Miss USA organization of enabling a “toxic work environment…poor management at best and bullying and harassment at worst.”
Vogt said in the letter that she was “made to feel unsafe at an event without competent leadership,” which stems from an incident of sexual harassment in which a driver made inappropriate comments to her at a Christmas parade in Sarasota, Florida. He said it led to. When Vogt raised the issue with Miss USA president Leila Rose, Rose said, “You can’t prevent people from saying things to you in public,” she claimed.
Vogt’s mother, Jackelyn, further elaborated on the incident, claiming that the driver had told her daughter, “Are you interested in old men with money?” Jackeline said the comment “made Noelia very uncomfortable.” Ms. Jackelin criticized the president for not even responding to Mr. Rose’s alleged reaction by saying, “I’m sorry he did that.”
Jackelin also speculated that Voigt’s public Instagram posts may contain a hidden message in the first letter of every sentence: “I’m silent.” also mentioned. Jackelin declined to confirm specifically whether it was intentional, but when asked if his daughter had been silenced, he replied: “Yes. [non-disclosure agreement] Not lifted. Girls need to talk. ”
Barbara Srivastava spoke about UmaSophia’s decision to resign from Miss Teen USA in solidarity with Vogt, saying, “Their dream job became a nightmare. This prank could not continue. The girls… decided to resign, [up] It’s their lifelong dream, their crown, their national title. ”
She added: “Seeing them attacking Noelia’s mental health, [UmaSofia] “I can’t stand this,” I said. I have to stand up with Noelia. ”
The Miss USA organization did not return immediately. rolling stoneasked for comment and shared a statement GMA: “We are committed to fostering a healthy, communicative, and supportive environment for all contestants, state title holders, national title holders, and staff.”
