Ominous ‘hidden message’ in Miss USA’s resignation letter
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The reigning Miss USA and Miss Teen USA have both quit in the same week, with the older title holder appearing to have hidden the message “I am silenced” in her resignation announcement.
Miss USA Noelia Voigt became the first title holder in the pageant’s 72-year history to voluntarily step down on Monday. Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava followed suit and quit on Wednesday.
Insiders believe the resignations are linked after both competition winners delivered carefully worded statements criticising the pageant.
In her letter, Ms Voigt, 24, suggested that she had quit to prioritise her mental health. But coded within appeared to be a cry for help.
“In life, I strongly value the importance of making decisions that feel best for you and your mental health,” wrote the Venezuelan-American in a post on Instagram.
Internet sleuths said the first word of each sentence of the full version of her statement spelt out the words “I am silenced”.
A source told the New York Post she appeared to be referring to “harmful workplace conditions” over which she had been forced by her contract to stay silent.
On Wednesday, Ms Srivastava, 17, followed Ms Voigt’s lead and quit the junior version of the contest, claiming her personal values “no longer fully align with the direction of the organisation”.
The resignations came shortly after Claudia Michelle, the Miss USA social media manager, also quit her job.
In an Instagram post, she wrote: “I feel the way current management speaks about their titleholders is unprofessional and inappropriate; I disavow workplace toxicity and bullying of any kind.”
She added: “I believe Noelia and Uma’s mental health and happiness has taken a toll and I cannot remain silent about that.”
One insider, who knows all three women, told the New York Post that they decided to quit together and strategically timed their resignations.
The source cited a “toxic atmosphere” and suggested that the beauty queens had been afraid to speak out for fear of damaging their future career prospects.
Ms Michelle told the New York Post: “Noelia’s contract – as in her salary – was used against her. They would threaten her by saying ‘If you don’t do XYZ …‘ In this case, following social media guidelines from the Miss Universe Organization that, as a social media director, I still had yet to see.”
Miss USA and Miss Teen USA are run under licence from the Miss Universe Organization, which has been owned by Thailand’s JKN Global Group since 2022.
JKN, which is run by Thai media investor Anne Jakkaphong, filed for bankruptcy in November and two months later announced the sale of a 50 per cent stake to Mexican entrepreneur Raul Rocha Cantu’s The Legacy Holding group.
In August 2023, Laylah Rose, previously a fashion designer, took over as president and chief executive of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.
The New York Post’s source alleged Ms Rose had been secretly posting on social media under Ms Voigt and Ms Srivastava’s names, much to the frustration of the two contest winners.
The source also suggested the relationship with Ms Srivastava had deteriorated to such an extent that her parents recently refused to let Ms Rose speak to their daughter directly, insisting all correspondence was through them.
In a statement, Ms Rose said: “Our all-encompassing goal at Miss USA is to celebrate and empower women. Our participants make a real difference in this country and around the globe.
“All along, my personal goal as the head of this organization has been to inspire women to always create new dreams, have the courage to explore it all, and continue to preserve integrity along the way.
“I hold myself to these same high standards and I take these allegations seriously. Please be assured that the well-being of all individuals associated with Miss USA is my top priority.”
