The world witnessed pageant queens Noelia Voigt and UmaSofia Srivastava relinquishing their beauty crowns. This puts the spotlight on Miss Universe Leadership and the possible problems brewing such as accusations of unprofessional behavior, workplace bullying, and harassment from management.
Ms Voigt, 24, the first Venezuelan-American woman to win Miss USA, talked about her decision to focus on her mental health. At the same time, 17-year-old Ms Srivastava said her values no longer align with the organization’s actions.
Both these announcements came just after the resignation of Miss USA Social Media Director Claudia Michelle, who voiced several concerns. Ms. Michelle, on Instagram, said that the decision wasn’t taken lightly and that it was “disheartening’.
A few of the accusations against the pageant’s leadership are as follows
1. Bullying and toxic work environment: Ms. Michelle says, “I feel the way current management speaks about their titleholders is unprofessional and inappropriate,” she said, adding that “not enough time and attention” was given to the teenager. “I have firsthand seen the disrespect towards Uma and her family. In my opinion, not enough time and attention was given to our national teen titleholder, especially on social media”, commented Ms. Michelle
2. Downplaying ‘personal advocacies’ of titleholders: “Every time someone asked me what my favorite part of being Miss USA was, I would always share with them how much I loved getting to work with Smile Train, being a fervent advocate for anti-bullying, dating violence awareness and prevention, immigration rights and reform,” Ms. Voigt wrote on her Instagram. “Deep down I know that this is just the beginning of a new chapter for me, and my hope is that I continue to inspire others to remain steadfast, prioritize your mental health, advocate for yourself and others by using your voice, and never be afraid of what the future holds, even if it feels uncertain.” Earlier this week, fans of Ms. Voigt flagged that the first letter in each sentence of her resignation spelled out a message: “I AM SILENCED.”
3. Lack of payment and micro-management: “As a social media director, you become in charge of a team and create strategies to enhance the growth and presence of the brand. However, there was no social media team to manage,” Ms Michelle wrote in her post. “The only thing I can truly take credit for is the in-person content I was able to capture of Noelia and Uma during events. All pages blocked, comments that were deleted, and story reposts that were not branded right, were not done by myself or under my guidance. Despite verbal approval that I was able to run the account when brought on to the team, I felt like I was never truly able to run it in the professional level that I had planned to.”