With The Resignations of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, Who Owns the Controversial Pagaent?
"I disavow workplace toxicity and bullying of any kind," wrote the former Miss USA social media manager
Published May 9 2024, 4:51 p.m. ET
With both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA resigning from roles about halfway through their respective runs, some folks are wondering who owns the organization.
When former Miss USA Noelia Voigt and former Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava announced their leaves in individual Instagram posts, neither went too in detail about why they left, saying their mental health was the main priority. But Miss USA’s social media director, Claudia Michelle, also announced she was leaving her role and her resignation was much more critical of the organization.
The Miss USA organization has been run by Laylah Rose since 2023
In her very long Instagram explanation, Claudia makes it clear she did not step away due to either reigning champion. Her caption reads, “I've unfortunately made the decision of stepping down from my role as Social Media Director for Miss USA. Getting to work with @noeliavoigt and @umasofias has been such a pleasure, they are the definition of true titleholders.”
The second slide in her post is where she takes aim at the organization. Claudia claims she was not paid for her first two months of work, her work was meddled with, the winners were disrespected and forced to sign an NDA.
She writes, “I’ve first hand seen Noelia and Uma be unable to share about their personal advocacies on social media and be threatened by MUO “social media rules and guidelines” that I still have yet to see. I feel the way current management speaks about their titleholders is unprofessional and inappropriate; I disavow workplace toxicity and bullying of any kind.”
In regards to president and CEO Laylah Rose, Claudia wrote, “This is a women's empowerment organization and my hope in making this statement is to restore some of the empowerment back to these titleholders that was so deeply lost in their year.”
When asked for comment about the allegations the CEO and president told People, “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.”
That statement mirrors the statement she gave Parade about after Miss Teen USA resigned. “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."
An unnamed source told the New York Post the three women planned their resignation together and Laylah was posting to each of their social media accounts.
Laylah Rose's net worth is unknown because she's not the owner of the pagaent.
While many think the president and CEO of Miss USA Laylah is the owner of the pageant, she's not. The company that actually owns the contest and put Laylah in charge obtained the long running pageant in 2022.
The owner of Miss USA may not be owner for much longer.
Thai celebrity (she starred in the Thai version of Shark Tank and Project Runway) and transgender rights advocate Jakapong "Anne" Jakrajutatip bought the Miss USA organization for $20 million in 2022. In November 2023 JKN Global Group, she group Jakapong works for as chief executive, filed for bankruptcy. In February 2024 a former president of the Miss Universe Organisation threatened Jakapong with a defamation lawsuit.
