The 2023 Miss USA and Miss Teen USA winners returned their crowns this week citing “mental health” reasons, following the resignation of an American beauty pageant leader who denounced a “toxic” work environment.
This controversy over possible psychological mistreatment and pressure on these young women, accompanied by rumors of silence around this competition created in 1952 – in the hands of Donald Trump until 2015 – started discreetly a week ago on the social networks.
And gained momentum on Thursday in the American and international press.
It all started on May 3 when the head of social networks for the Miss USA organization, Claudia Michelle, announced her departure in a long message on Instagram.
She cites by name the American of Venezuelan origin Noelia Voigt, crowned Miss USA 2023 at the age of 24, and her compatriot of Indian and Mexican origin, UmaSofia Srivastava, elected Miss Teen USA 2023 at 17 years old.
“I had the privilege of working closely with Noelia and I have unfortunately noticed an attack on her mental health since our first meeting,” denounces Ms. Michelle.
“Keep quiet”
“I was also at the forefront to witness the lack of respect towards Uma and her family,” she continues, warning that “the mental health and happiness of Noelia and Uma have taken a hit. blow” and refusing to “keep silent”.
Claudia Michelle also affirms that she “disavows toxicity and intimidation in all its forms in the workplace” and mocks the “unprofessional and inadequate” way in which “current management speaks about the winners”.
The resigning leader recalls that “without (these young women) there is neither Miss USA nor Miss Teen USA” and that “their voices and their stories must be listened to and not silenced”.
On Monday, Noelia Voigt announced on Instagram that she was relinquishing her 2023 Miss USA title citing her “mental health”.
“I realize the shock this may represent for many. Never jeopardize your physical and mental well-being. Our health is our wealth (…) Give priority to your mental health, defend yourself and defend others by speaking out without ever being afraid of what the future has in store for you,” the young woman forcefully pleads.
Noelia Voigt is followed on Wednesday by her youngest UmaSofia Srivastava who also proclaims on Instagram to have “decided to resign, because (her) personal values no longer fully correspond to those of the management of the organization” Miss USA.
The latter responded “to respect and support Noelia’s decision to leave her functions (because) the well-being of (her) laureates has always been a priority”.
The Miss USA competition has been rife with controversy for around ten years, the American magazine Forbes recalled on Thursday, but this is the first time in seven decades that a winner has resigned for a reason other than a coronation in the Miss Universe competition.
And in recent days, many users of social networks like TikTok even believe they have detected a coded and hidden message in Noelia Voigt’s publication.
In fact, by taking the first letter of the first 11 sentences of his message, the phrase “I am silenced” appears, American television NBC and the French magazines Le Point and Huffington Post reported on Thursday.
They see it as an echo of the message of the former head of Miss USA, Claudia Michelle, who wanted to break “the silence” and the supposed silence around the female beauty contest.
