The CEO of the Miss USA Association has responded to allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and a toxic work environment at the organization that were raised when the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA titleholders stepped down a few weeks ago.
“We are deeply disappointed to hear of the recent false allegations made by an individual claiming to be one of our former titleholders,” Chief Executive Officer Layla Rose said in a statement obtained by The New York Times on Friday.
“The allegations of sexual harassment, a toxic environment and bullying are untrue. To be clear, this behavior will not be tolerated and we can assure you that we take immediate action to protect titleholders and provide them with access to appropriate resources when such behavior occurs,” Rose said in a statement.
Her open letter was a strong rebuttal to claims made by former titleholders and their mothers earlier this month.
Former Miss USA Noelia Voight (age 24) Rose announced her resignation on Instagram on May 6. In her leaked resignation letter, the 2024 titleholder accused the Miss USA organization of having a “toxic work environment” and experiencing “at best…poor management and at worst…bullying and harassment.” According to CNN, which obtained the resignation letter, the pageant queen accused Rose of “disparaging” her and calling her “mentally ill” in conversations with people outside the organization. She said Rose had also been “aggressive” and threatened to withhold her pay.
Meanwhile, Umasofia Srivastava, the 17-year-old former Miss Teen USA, who announced her resignation just days after Voight, also said her personal values were “no longer fully aligned with the direction of the organization.”
The couple claimed they had signed non-disclosure agreements with the Miss USA organization that limited what they could include in public statements, so their mother appeared on “Good Morning America” on their behalf on May 14.
“Their dream jobs had turned into a nightmare,” Barbara Srivastava said. “We couldn’t continue this farce. They resigned and [up] “Their lifelong dreams, their crowns, their national titles. Why would two girls decide to give that up?”
Jakelyn Voight also described how her daughter was sexually harassed at the Miss USA pageant presentation but there was not enough security to protect her, and Rose allegedly told her the harassment was “part of the role.”
In his statement, Rhodes seemed to blame Voight for the issue, writing that “the suggestion of a lack of communication and support for the former titleholder is equally false.”
“[W]”We communicated constantly about events and procedures and provided access to all necessary services, many of which were ignored or unused by our titleholders,” she said.
Rose also alleged that the pageant queen was neglecting her official duties.
“We also organized many events where she was invited (always with a chaperone) to showcase her accomplishments and highlight her ‘passion’ projects, many of which our titleholder canceled at the last minute and without justification,” Rose’s statement read.
Voight on Thursday refuted Rose’s “demonstrably inaccurate” claims, posting on Instagram that he is “bound” by a non-disclosure agreement and urged Rose to waive it.
“I… after my resignation letter was circulated without authorization, [sic] The assertions made in her recent statement are contradictory to my experience after three weeks of not receiving a response to my resignation notice and are patently inaccurate.”
Mr Srivastava has not responded to Mr Rose’s statement.
Following Voight’s departure, the title of Miss USA 2024 went to runner-up Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii. The role of Miss Teen USA remains vacant.
