Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants return in LA after turbulent year

LOS ANGELES -- After a turbulent year for the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants that saw both its 2023 titleholders resign for the first time ever, both events are returning this week to Los Angeles to crown two new winners.

To vie for the titles, the 51 contestants from each competition will showcase themselves through multiple rounds: swimsuit (Miss USA) or athletic wear (Miss Teen USA), evening gown, and an onstage interview, as well as a preliminary interview with the judges.

The reigning Miss USA, Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, is last year's first runner-up who stepped into the role two weeks after Noelia Voigt resigned in May. She will crown her successor, but she may also crown the new Miss Teen USA, since that role remains vacant - another first in the pageant's history. Former Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava gave up her title just days after Voigt, and the competition's first runner-up, Stephanie Skinner, declined to take the title in the aftermath of the astonishing week that rocked the pageant world.

Why did the 2023 titleholders resign?

In early May, Voigt and Srivastava separately announced on social media that they were relinquishing their crowns - Voigt citing mental health reasons, and Srivastava citing a clash in personal values with the Miss USA organization - and have yet to speak publicly on the specifics. (Internet commenters quickly pointed out that Voigt's cryptic post appeared to contain the hidden message "I am silenced," sparking rumors of a strict non-disclosure agreement that kept her from further explanation.)

However, Voigt's resignation letter to the Miss USA organization, which was obtained by CNN, shed light on her experiences. In the letter, her concerns ranged from frustrating administration issues that she said led to a delay in her receiving her prizes including an apartment and a car, as well as more serious allegations. Among those, Voigt noted a "toxic work environment" and the absence of an "effective handler" that she claimed led to her being sexually harassed during a parade appearance. She also alleged that the pageant's president Laylah Rose had slandered her character in conversations with other people within and outside of the organization, including calling Voigt "mentally ill."

Rose is an entrepreneur and CEO of the VIP Pageantry Network, who took over Miss USA in 2023.

The Miss Universe Organization and Rose, through Miss USA, did not respond to CNN's requests for comment in May. At the end of the month, Rose released a statement, reported by the Los Angeles Times, refuting the allegations.

What has happened since the titleholders resigned?

Soon after the double resignations, CNN spoke with several insiders who described a pageant organization in disarray.

The pageant queens' mothers, Jackeline Voigt and Barbara Srivastava, also appeared on Good Morning America together, calling the experience a "nightmare" and asking for an apology from the parent organization Miss Universe, which has yet to respond to the claims. They also sent a warning to the state titleholders competing in 2024. "We just don't want these families and these girls to go through what we're going through," Jackeline added.

Gankiewicz was crowned on May 15 amid criticism in a ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaii. She did not respond to CNN's requests for comment at the time. Her reign has been particularly short at less than three months.

What are this year's prizes?

This year, Miss USA's website is absent of information about the prize package or who hosts and judges will be, though it has shared an Instagram post that Garcelle Beauvais of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" will take up hosting duties. For Miss Teen USA, Rachel Lindsay of "The Bachelorette" and Justin Sylvester of E! News have promoted themselves as hosts on their respective accounts.

In the past, the winner of Miss USA has reportedly received a six-figure salary, a Los Angeles apartment and a luxury car for one year as she makes appearances and supports causes on behalf of the organization, as well as other perks like designer clothes, five-star resort stays and guest spots on television shows, according to previous versions of its website.

Miss USA did not answer CNN's questions about the forthcoming pageants.

Who can participate in Miss USA?

An eligible Miss USA participant must be a US citizen and either a permanent resident, full-time student or full-time employee of their given state for a set period of time. They must also affirm they are "recognized medically and legally" as female, according to the pageant website. The pageant saw its first openly trans woman compete only three years ago, when Miss Nevada USA Kataluna Enriquez competed in 2021 but was eliminated before the finals.

In 2022, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) announced that married, divorced and pregnant women could compete for the first time at Miss Universe and Miss USA. Previously only legally single women without children could compete. Miss Maine USA 2023 Juliana Morehouse became the first married woman to compete in Miss USA.

Last year, MUO announced that it was eliminating its age restrictions, too, allowing contestants 28 and older to compete in Miss USA and Miss Universe. That opened it up to competitors like Marissa Teijo, a 71-year-old grandmother from Texas who hoped to take home the state title Miss Texas USA in June but did not move forward. However, several women in their late 20s and early 30s, did win their state titles this year; the oldest, 33-year-old Miss Indiana USA Stephanie Sullivan, is the first married mother to win her state title and has expressed online that she is hoping to continue to make history at Miss USA.

What's the difference between Miss America and Miss USA?

Miss America and Miss USA are both major national beauty pageants, but they are two different brands with a shared history. Miss America began in 1921 as a small Atlantic City boardwalk beauty contest and grew to national prominence. In 1952, a sponsor of Miss America, Catalina - which made swimwear - founded Miss USA in response to the defiance of the 1950 Miss America titleholder Yolande Betbeze, who refused to appear in bathing suits during her reigning year. Today, Miss America is a non-profit that promotes itself as a scholarship program, while the Miss USA franchise is part of MUO, and its winners automatically go on to represent the United States at the international pageant Miss Universe. In 2022, the Thai conglomerate JKN Global Group bought MUO for $20 million - and filed for bankruptcy days before the 2023 Miss Universe.

Miss Universe has had a number of owners during its tenure, and headline-making controversies are not unfamiliar to the brand. It was famously owned by former President Donald Trump for nearly 20 years, who sold it in 2015 after his inflammatory comments about Mexican immigrants led to NBC, the pageant's broadcast partner at the time, refusing to air the Miss USA pageant that year.

Today, Miss USA is managed by Rose, but before she was appointed as president, it was led by Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart, who left the organization after she was embroiled in scandal that included claims of favoritism toward the 2022 winner R'Bonney Gabriel. (Gabriel later went on to win Miss Universe). Stewart denied allegations that the pageant was rigged.

Onstage, there are differences as well. Miss America has a talent portion, while Miss USA does not. And, ironically, Miss America got rid of its swimsuit portion altogether in 2018, two years after Yolande Betbeze died at 87 years old.

The finals of the 42nd edition of Miss Teen USA will take place August 1, followed by the 73rd edition of Miss USA on August 4 at the Peacock Theater.

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