When current Miss USA Noelia Vogt announced she was stepping down from her role this week, she addressed her mental health and expressed her gratitude for the opportunity.
“As individuals, we grow by experiencing different things in life, which leads us to learn more about ourselves,” she wrote on Instagram on Monday.
But Vogt’s internal resignation letter to the Miss USA leadership and the Miss Universe organization, obtained by The New York Times on Friday, painted an even darker picture.
Voigt, who represents Utah and was crowned in September, wrote in an eight-page letter that “the toxic work environment within the Miss USA organization is at best poorly managed and at worst full of bullying and harassment.” It’s full,” he said. ” She also stated her complaint in her letter that the organization delayed making a profit on her winnings.
The Miss USA organization did not respond to requests for comment.
Vogt’s resignation spurred the departure of at least two others. Miss Teen USA Umasofia Srivastava announced Wednesday that she is stepping down from her role as girlfriend. Arianna Lemus, who represented Colorado in the 2023 Miss USA competition, said Friday she was resigning in solidarity with Vogt’s post.
“It was a call for help,” Lemus, 27, said in an interview.
The sudden resignation has sparked speculation in the pageant world that the winner may be legally prohibited from speaking freely about her experience with the Miss USA organization. Many of Vogt’s past competitors, including Lemus, have released statements demanding that she be released from her non-disclosure agreement.
In her resignation letter, Vogt said she experienced a sexual harassment incident in Sarasota, Florida, where a driver made inappropriate comments to her during a Christmas parade last year.
In her letter, she said the organization did not support her when she reported the incident.
Vogt went on to write that being Miss USA took a toll on her health, adding that she now takes medication to combat anxiety and manage her symptoms.
She said she began experiencing “heart palpitations, whole body tremors, loss of appetite, unintentional weight loss, lack of sleep, hair loss, etc.”
Some believed Vogt’s Instagram post announcing his resignation contained a secret message. The first letter of the first 11 sentences of his statement spelled out the phrase “I am silent,” which Vogt interpreted as a signal that he could not speak openly about his experiences. Some people do.
Just days after Vogt’s announcement, Srivastava, who was crowned Miss Teen USA 2023, also resigned from her position.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to step down because my personal values are no longer fully aligned with the direction of the organization,” said Srivastava, who represented New Jersey in September’s Miss Teen USA pageant. I’ve decided,” he wrote on Instagram. .
Her post included a quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “There is no beautiful surface without terrifying depth.”
Leila Rose, president and CEO of the Miss USA organization, said in an email to the Times earlier this week about Vogt and Srivastava’s resignations, “All of us who love this program… I know you want to do something fast.” “My goal is to provide really helpful measures that we can take together.
“Our overarching goal at Miss USA is to celebrate and empower women,” Rose added, adding, “We take these allegations seriously.”
Through their representatives, Mr. Srivastava and Mr. Vogt declined to comment, citing non-disclosure agreements. (A copy of the 2023 Miss USA contract obtained by the Times appears to prohibit signers from disclosing information about Miss USA while employed by the organization.)
After Vogt’s announcement, several Miss USA 2023 contestants posted statements on Instagram demanding that the Miss USA Organization release Vogt from such contracts.
Julianna Morehouse, a South Carolina resident who represented Maine in the Miss USA pageant, said in an interview with the Times that the letter began when she was “shocked and saddened” to hear of Vogt’s resignation in 2023. He said it was in a group chat among participants. On the Zoom call, they hashed out the messages they wanted to share in support of Vogt.
Claudia Michelle Engelhart, who resigned from her position as Miss USA’s social media director this month, said she felt Miss USA contestants were being unfairly pressured to sign contracts.
“It was like, ‘If I don’t sign this, I can’t compete,'” said Engelhardt, 24. You won the state. What, you don’t want to sign a contract so you’re not going? They’re basically holding you hostage to sign this contract. ”
Morehouse said he was given “a little more than 24 hours” to review the contract.
“I don’t think any of us sought legal representation to consider it,” she said in an interview with the Times. “This was the first year of new leadership, so I’ve never heard of such a strict NDA in place.” (Rose became president of the organization last year.)
She emphasized that while her personal experience at Miss USA was a positive one, she wants to ensure that it is the same for all participants in the future by speaking out.
Lemus said she saw an irony in Miss USA’s situation.
“This is an organization that preaches women’s empowerment,” she said.
