A new Miss USA has been crowned.
After months of turmoil in the pageant universe, Miss Michigan Alma Cooper was announced as the winner on Sunday, August. 4 in the annual competition at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
The 22-year-old US Army officer will go on to represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in November.
“As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro-Latina woman and an officer in the United States Army, I’m living the American dream,” Cooper told the judges during a question-and-answer session at the pageant’s finale, per CNN.
“If there’s one thing my life and my mother’s have taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny: You can make success attainable by seeking excellence.”
Miss Kentucky Connor Perry was named first runner-up, while Danika Christopherson of Miss Oklahoma was named second runner-up.
Cooper was crowned Miss USA 2023 Savannah Gankiewicz, who was announced the winner in May, shortly after former titleholder Noelia Voigt resigned in shock.
Voigt, who was the first Venezuelan-American woman to win Miss USA, relinquished her title in an Instagram announcement on May 7, citing her mental health as the reason.
She was the first title holder in the pageant’s 72-year history to voluntarily step down.
After the announcement, Voigt claimed in an eight-page resignation letter obtained by NBC News that there was a “toxic work environment within the Miss USA organization that, at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment”.
“This toxic atmosphere is a serious concern,” an anonymous source told The Post. “There is an urgent need for intervention at the management level.”
Voigt also called out Laylah Rose, the president and CEO of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organizations, by name, saying she was “generally unavailable for communication” and allegedly “slandered” her.
Rose responded to the allegations in her open letter, writing, “We are very disappointed to hear the recent false allegations made by individuals speaking on behalf of our former president.”
The letter continued: “Allegations of sexual harassment, toxic environment and harassment are not true. To be clear, such behavior is not acceptable, and we can assure you that if such behavior were ever to occur, we would take immediate steps to protect our data subject and ensure access to the resources of right.”
Former Miss New York Thatiana Diaz, 31, told The Post the organization’s reckoning has been “a long time coming.”
“You have all these different personalities and so many ways in which you’re being pushed and pulled and told what to do,” Diaz said. “It really affects your mental health.”
She added: “There are human beings under these crowns.”
Shortly after Voigt’s resignation, it was announced that Gankievicz, 28, accepted the crown and title of Miss USA 2023.
“I can’t speak for their experience, but I can only judge from mine, and it’s been nothing but amazing,” the former Miss Hawaii told People ahead of this year’s event. “I had the best time of my life, the best three months of my life. I am honestly very grateful to have taken this opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava also resigned her title just two days after Voigt because her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”
The title remained uncontested because last year’s first runner-up, Stephanie Skinner, declined to accept the crown.
Adie Carver of Mississippi was crowned Miss Teen USA 2024 in August. 1.
“As the next Miss Teen USA, I want to make it my mission to know that every little girl who is like me is never alone,” the 17-year-old said on stage Thursday night.
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Image Source : nypost.com