Reported Reason For Sudden Resignations Of Miss USA, Miss Teen USA Revealed
By Jason Hall
May 9, 2024
The sudden resignations of Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava reportedly stem from "harmful workplace conditions," insiders told the New York Post on Wednesday (May 8).
“This toxic atmosphere is a serious concern,” the source said. “There is an urgent need for intervention at the leadership level.”
Voigt, 24, who represented Utah while winning the Miss USA 2023 crown at the pageant held in September and placed in the top 20 in the Miss Universe 2023 pageant in November, announced her decision to become the first Miss USA title holder in the pageant's 72-year history to voluntarily resign on Monday (May 6), specifically mentioning Srivastava, who announced her own resignation on Wednesday (May 8), while expressing gratitude for support in her statement. Several users acknowledged that the first letter in the first 10 of 11 sentences of the statement shared by Voigt spelled out the phrase "I AM SILENCED."
Both Voigt and Srivastava's resignations followed Miss USA social media manager Claudia Michelle's decision to step down from her position on May 3.
"I've unfortunately made the decision of stepping down from my role as Social Media Director for Miss USA," Michelle wrote in an Instagram post alongside Voigt and Srivastava. "Getting to work with @noeliavoigt and @umasofias has been such a pleasure, they are the definition of true titleholders. I have made my official statement on the second slide and hope you take the time to read. I don't believe in taking sides, I believe in telling the truth.🤍"
An insider told the Post that the three women decided to quit together and strategically worked out the timing of their respective resignations.
“The decision was not easy. Noelia and UmaSofia are extremely dedicated people who worked incredibly hard for the pageant. The decisions were not taken lightly. They all decided to do this together,” the insider said. “They are afraid of speaking out more at this time because of the organization. They don’t want this to have any lasting harmful effect on their futures.”
The source added that the alleged harassment and bullying was so bad that Srivastava's parents reportedly prohibited Miss USA Organization president Laylah Rose from speaking to their daughter.
“All correspondence had to go through her parents. Her parents meet weekly with the Miss Universe Organization to try and get things to change with Miss USA but nothing ever gets done. No changes, no nothing,” the source claimed.
Miss Hawaii runner-up, Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, was reportedly offered the title amid Voigt's resignation, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Alexis Loomans of Wisconsin, Jasmine Daniels of Pennsylvania and Lluvia Alzate of Texas finished third, fourth and fifth in the competition respectively. Voigt was the first Venezuelan-American woman to win the Miss USA crown in the pageant's history, according to her statement.
A spokesperson for the Miss USA organization said “the well-being of our titleholders is a top priority, and we understand her need to prioritize herself at this time" in a statement to CNN following her resignation.