clock: Miss USA resigns due to mental health issues
Miss USA CEO Layla Rose is refuting allegations of fostering a toxic environment, bullying and sexual harassment made against the organization by former Miss USA Noelia Voight in her resignation letter earlier this month.
“We are extremely disappointed to hear of the recent false allegations made by those representing our former titleholders,” Rose said in a statement Thursday regarding the litany of accusations that have been leveled at the organization since Voight’s resignation and subsequent submission of his resignation.
Former Miss USA 2023 alleges toxic work environment in resignation letter
“The allegations of sexual harassment, a toxic environment or 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’s statement continued.
Voight and former Miss Teen USA Umasofia Srivastava declined their titles earlier this month.
Voight cited mental health issues, and Srivastava wrote that her “values are no longer fully aligned with the direction of the organization.”
In a resignation letter obtained by ABC News after announcing her departure, Voight alleged that “there was a toxic work environment within the Miss USA organization that was, at best, poorly managed and, at worst, bullying and harassment.”
She added that she was “made to feel unsafe at events without appropriate response personnel, which escalated to sexual harassment.”
In his resignation letter, Voight named Rose, who is president and CEO of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, claiming that Rose was “generally uncommunicative,” failed to offer support, and “degraded” him. [her]”
Overall, Voight claimed in her resignation letter that she had “concerns” about the Miss USA brand and that Rose has “actively built a culture of fear and control that is the polar opposite of women’s empowerment, which has created a toxic work environment that is dangerous for future titleholders and employees.”
In a statement on Thursday, Rose also refuted the allegations of abuse made against the former titleholder.
“The suggestion that there was a lack of communication and support to the previous owner is equally false. We constantly communicated about events and procedures and provided access to all necessary services, many of which were ignored or unused by the owner,” Rose wrote.
Rose also added details about the event that Voight allegedly did not attend.
“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 continued.
Late Thursday, Voit responded to Rose’s letter on Instagram.
“I am bound by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and want to state categorically that the assertions in Layla Rose’s recent statement that contradict my experience after the unauthorized distribution of her resignation letter and the three weeks of no response to my resignation notice are demonstrably inaccurate,” Voight wrote.
“I urge her to waive her non-disclosure agreement so I can speak,” she concluded her statement.
Miss USA and Miss Teen USA mothers speak out following shocking resignation
Rose began her open letter by giving an example of how “Miss USA is evolving.” “On behalf of the Miss USA organization, I am working closely with the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI) to provide all contestants with access to local resources for counseling and a range of supports.”
She also noted that the organization has removed age restrictions to be more inclusive.
A few weeks ago, Voight and Srivastava’s mothers appeared on “Good Morning America” to explain what led to their daughters’ resignations.
“Their dream jobs had turned into a nightmare,” Barbara Srivastava told GMA. “We couldn’t continue this farce. They resigned, [up] A lifelong dream, a crown, a national title — why would two girls decide to give that up?”
ABC News’ Yijin Yu contributed to this report.
