A new Miss USA has been crowned – but there’s still drama among former title holders. Miss Michigan Alma Cooper, a 22-year-old US Army officer, was awarded the crown on Sunday at the Miss USA pageant’s 73rd annual ceremony, following months of controversy within the organization. In May, Noelia Voight, 24, stepped down from the Miss USA position, seven months into the title, citing mental health challenges.
Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava, 17, and social media manager Claudia Michelle resigned shortly after. Sources told The Post that the women had been bullied and harassed by Miss USA leadership. But, last week, Miss Hawaii Savannah Gankiewicz, 28, who took over as Miss USA for nearly three months after Voight resigned, dismissed such allegations.
“Now that I have been Miss USA for almost three months I can now say that it’s all false. The organization is amazing. Laylah Rose, the president, has been nothing but kind to me.
I’ve just enjoyed every single second,” Gankiewicz said in an interview with Fox News Thursday . Gankiewicz, received backlash, including bullying and hateful comments on social media, for taking the crown on May 10, amid the historic resignations. She previously defended the Miss USA organization in a July 28 interview.
“Their president and the CEO Laylah Rose have been nothing but kind and generous to me ...
it does break my heart to see that [Rose] was bullied. I think it’s actually the other way around. I heard both sides of the story and it just completely baffled me how one side can mix up communication and make the other person look bad,” she told News Nation.
Voight responded to Gankiewicz’s most recent comments on her social media Thursday, saying she was “very disheartened” by her fellow beauty queen’s assertions. “If the intention is to empower women, why the need to invalidate their feelings and experiences, and question the character of those who are now formerly part of the organization who have stepped away and lost their dream or career?” Voight said. Srivastava also voiced her dismay on social media Thursday.
In her initial resignation letter posted to Instagram , Voigt capitalized the first letter of each sentence to spell out the coded message “I AM SILENCED” — on purpose, sources told The Post. “I will not stand for someone impugning my or Noelia’s character. If there is anything that I stand by, it is my values and my integrity,” her post read.
“Claiming that Noelia and I were not victims, but rather perpetrators of anything remotely close to ‘bullying,’ in the words of this current representative, is unfortunate, but reaffirms that my choice to distance myself from this organization was the right one.” “Never compromise your physical and mental well-being. Our health is our wealth,” Voigt captioned the post.
Sources previously told The Post that Miss USA CEO Laylah Rose was posting on social media using Voigt and Srivastava’s identities. A representative for Voight and Srivastava told The Post the women want to move forward from the situation. “Everybody needs to move on — they’re over this.
They wish the new contestant nothing but luck and hope she doesn’t have the same experience she did,” Denise White, a rep for Voight and Srivastava, told The Post. “Both girls are doing wonderful, they only wish the new contestant the best.”.
