The CW To Investigate Miss USA & Miss Teen USA Pageants Following Bullying & Harassment Allegations

Peter White
·2 min read
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The CW will be taking a long, hard look at whether it will air the Miss USA Pageant and Miss Teen USA Pageant in August following controversy at the organization.

Earlier this month, Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava resigned from their positions, accusing the organizers of abuse and bullying.

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Voigt said that she relinquished her crown, publicly stating that she wanted to prioritize her mental well-being, calling the organization a “toxic work environment” in a resignation letter obtained by the New York Times that “at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment”.

Last month, The CW struck an exclusive, three-year deal to keep both events on its schedule after Miss USA became its number new special of the year with viewership peaking at over 1.1M, per Nielsen.

The 73rd Miss USA Pageant is set to air live on The CW on Sunday, August 4 after Miss Teen USA airs on Thursday, August 1.

However, The CW President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz told Deadline that it has a decision to make.

“We don’t condone any kind of bullying, obviously all of that stuff is very, very concerning. We’re going to take a minute and investigate it and have all the conversations and gather all the information before we make a decision,” he said.

“The important thing here is to champion the women. The last thing we want to do is just pull out and not give them the opportunity to be on TV because this is what their whole lives have been about. We’re going to wait and see what happens.”

He added that The CW’s sister news network News Nation, which is also owned by Nexstar, has done a “great job” at investigating the topic. “We’re really digging into it. We don’t want to make a rash decision, we don’t want to hurt the actual contestants, we want to support them and so we’re going to wait and see, gather all the information and make a decision.”

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