New Miss USA crowned, capping tumultuous year of pageant controversy

(CNN) — Michigan’s Alma Cooper, a US Army officer, was named Miss USA on Sunday, becoming the third person to hold the title this year following the shock resignation of 2023’s winner.

The 22-year-old, who has a Master’s in data science from Stanford University, beat 50 other contestants in a pageant that included swimwear and evening gown competitions. Kentucky’s Connor Perry and Oklahoma’s Danika Christopherson were named first and second runners up, respectively.

“As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro Latina woman and an officer of the United States Army, I am living the American dream,” she had told judges during a Q&A session at Sunday’s finale. “If there’s anything that my life and my mother have taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny: You can make success accessible through demanding excellence.”

Cooper was crowned on stage by previous titleholder, Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, who inherited the tiara in May after Utah’s Noelia Voigt stepped down in highly controversial circumstances.

The glitzy televised event capped three months of turbulence for pageant organizers sparked by Voigt’s surprise resignation — and that of then-reigning Miss Teen USA, New Jersey’s UmaSofia Srivastava, just days later. The show featured no explicit references to the controversy, though Gankiewicz described her unexpected three-month stint as Miss USA as “the most unique reign in history.”

Announcing her decision via Instagram in May, Voigt attributed her resignation to mental health reasons. But social media users quickly spotted that the first letter of the first 11 sentences of her cryptic post spelled “I am silenced,” sparking rumors of a strict non-disclosure agreement.

Her resignation letter, later obtained by CNN, alleged delays in receiving prizes and a “toxic work environment” that “at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment.” Voigt also claimed to have been sexually harassed during a public appearance due the Miss USA organization’s failure to provide an “effective handler.”

Srivastava, who won the Miss Teen USA competition (a companion event, under the same ownership, for contestants aged 14 to 19), meanwhile attributed her resignation to a clash in “personal values” with the Miss USA organization. Both women’s mothers then appeared on Good Morning America, with Srivastava’s mother, Barbara, saying the beauty queens had been “ill-treated, abused, bullied and cornered,” and that “the job of their dreams turned out to be a nightmare.”

Organizers and the pageants’ parent company, the Miss Universe Organization, did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment at the time of the double resignation. Miss USA president Laylah Rose released a statement at the end of May, reported by the Los Angeles Times, refuting Voigt’s allegations.

New rules, groundbreaking firsts

The evening’s proceedings began with an elimination, as the 51 contestants were narrowed down to a top 20 based on judges’ scores from Saturday’s preliminary competition. The results of a swimwear competition saw the field reduced to 10 ahead of an eveningwear parade.

The final five were then asked the same question: “How can we bridge the gap between different cultures and foster understanding and respect?”

The televised finale, which was hosted by Garcelle Beauvais from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and E! News presenter Keltie Knight, saw the contest return to California for the first time since 2007.

Judges included shoe designer Jojo Bragais and former Miss USA titleholders Carole Gist and Lu Parker.

Sunday marked the first Miss USA pageant to take place since its owner, the Miss Universe Organization, lifted a longstanding age restriction banning women over 28 from participating. Several finalists benefited from the new rule, including 41-year-old Kristina Johnson of Arizona and contestants from Montana, North Dakota, Maryland and Indiana, who are all in their 30s.

In other firsts, Maryland’s Bailey Anne Kennedy became the first transgender contestant from her state to appear at the finals, and Shavana Clarke of Connecticut arrived as the “first openly lesbian Miss USA state titleholder,” according to organizers.

Sunday’s finale comes three days after Addie Carver of Mississippi was named Miss Teen USA, a title that had remained vacant since Srivastava’s resignation (last year’s first runner-up, Stephanie Skinner, declined to take on the title). Seventeen-year-old Carver is a dance teacher, cheerleader and choreographer who has used her platform to discuss young people’s mental health, telling judges of her own struggles following her father’s death. “As the next Miss Teen USA I want to make it my mission to know that every little girl who is just like me once is never alone,” she said on stage Thursday evening.

Cooper will now go onto compete in the Miss Universe 2024 contest, which will be held in Mexico later this year.

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