There is a LOT more to this story…
As we’ve been covering, the beauty pageant world was rocked this week when both Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava resigned unexpectedly. And that was just days after social media manager Claudia Michelle also cut ties with the organization. Noelia said the decision was made to protect her mental health while UmaSofia said her personal values “no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.” Super concerning, right? Well, now sources are coming out of the woodwork to reveal what’s been going on behind the scenes for months!
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Insiders spoke to the New York Post on Wednesday night, claiming the girls have been forced to work in “harmful workplace conditions” for months now due to iron-clad contracts. WHAT?! One said:
“This toxic atmosphere is a serious concern.”
Another source who knows all three women confirmed what many have guessed — they made this decision together. When they settled on quitting they planned to strategically time out their resignations to come out back to back. They wanted to send a message without having to speak out explicitly — because they’re still scared:
“The decision was not easy. Noelia and UmaSofia are extremely dedicated people who worked incredibly hard for the pageant. The decisions were not taken lightly. They all decided to do this together. They are afraid of speaking out more at this time because of the organization. They don’t want this to have any lasting harmful effect on their futures.”
Yikes. There’s been drama at the organization for years now with a lot of turnover. Laylah Rose is currently the Miss USA Organization president — and she’s allegedly a big part of the problem! As the first source put it:
“There is an urgent need for intervention at the leadership level.”
The president is allegedly creating a toxic environment, something particularly harmful to Miss Teen USA. The close source went on to claim Laylah’s harassment and bullying got so bad the 17-year-old’s parents wouldn’t let the CEO speak to their daughter anymore. Whoa! The confidant elaborated:
“All correspondence had to go through her parents. Her parents meet weekly with the Miss Universe Organization to try and get things to change with Miss USA but nothing ever gets done. No changes, no nothing.”
Jeez.
Also, as for Noelia’s hidden message that read, “I am silenced”? As you probably assumed, that was 100% there on purpose. It was her small way of trying to point out the bigger issue brewing here, an insider shared:
“Noelia wakes up every day on pins and needles because of harassing emails [from pageant organizers]: ‘Don’t do this,’ ‘Don’t do that,’ ‘Take that post down,’ ‘Unlike that post.’ ‘You can’t speak to anybody, remember your NDA you can’t go here unless we confirm.’ It’s micromanaged to the 10th degree and harassing.”
The former social media manager even told the outlet:
“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.”
The close insider went on to blame the threats directly on the Miss USA president and CEO, alleging Rose has been playing puppet master and posting on the titleholders’ accounts pretending to be them! What the heck! That’s abusive husband behavior!
Apparently back in August 2023, Rose took over the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA licenses under the Miss Universe Organization, which was bought by JKN Global Group in 2022 (they would later file for bankruptcy in October 2023). As fans discovered, the titleholders were recently banned from posting their own content on the official social channels, with a source confirming:
“Noelia and UmaSofia were removed from being able to post on the Miss USA Instagram page.”
They continued:
“Layla would post as Noelia and people would think Noelia was posting because she would speak as her. She just put up a post with UmaSofia yesterday, saying ‘I support my Miss.’ UmaSofia didn’t put that up. She’s trying to be the voice of the girls and the girls aren’t even allowed to speak for themselves. It’s quite ridiculous.”
But there were many other issues than just being silenced or manipulated on socials. Sources claimed Noelia, 24, started having issues with the company pretty early on after she was promised a Manhattan or LA apartment by pageant organizers (previously, Miss USA and Miss Universe winners usually lived together). After five months, nothing happened and arrangements were eventually made for her to live in Florida.
The close confidant also alleged the CEO dismissed Voigt’s allegations that she was being harassed at a Christmas parade she attended last year for the org. They dished:
“She was in the car with a man who was harassing her. It became very uncomfortable for her. She told the handler, who was very dismissive. Laylah said, ‘Well you’re going to have to get used to that because you’re in a public role now.’”
WTF!
Nobody should ever have to “get used to” harassment!
Noelia’s last straw came recently, just two days before she posted her resignation announcement, when she was set to attend the Kentucky Derby. She’d supposedly been approved to attend but was later told she couldn’t go because her handler had been fired. She went anyway. So she was clearly over all this and just ready to do her own thing!
Naturally Layla has something to say about these allegations. In a statement to the Times she all but denied it all:
“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.”
Right… We’re sure she’ll launch a full investigation into herself…
We’re just heartbroken to hear Noelia and UmaSofia weren’t given the proper support they needed during this exciting but stressful time in their lives. Especially after Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst, tragically died by suicide in 2022, we would’ve hoped the pageant contestant’s mental health would’ve been a top priority for this org.
Considering their strict NDAs, we’re not sure when we’ll be able to hear from Noelia and UmaSofia themselves any time soon, but other Miss USA 2023 contestants have been advocating for them to be allowed to speak out. It’s hard to imagine the org will let them if they really have such scalding hot tea to spill, but you never know.
Thoughts?! Let us know (below)!
[Image via ABC4 Utah/YouTube & UmaSofia Srivastava/Instagram]