Former Miss USA staffer says organization caused pageant winners' mental health to decline

For the first time in its 70-year history, both of the reigning Miss USA and Miss Teen USA titleholders resigned from their positions this past week, and a former social media manager for the organization claims a "toxic workplace" and leadership are to blame.

Claudia Engelhardt, who says she was hired as the Miss USA social media director earlier this year, reveals she resigned from her role last week due to leadership's "disrespect" toward her and titleholders Noelia Voigt (Miss USA 2023) and UmaSofia Srivastava (Miss Teen USA 2023). Voigt and Srivastava's concerns about their mental health and an incident of sexual harassment went unheeded, Engelhardt tells USA TODAY.

"This stepping down of Noelia and Uma is a direct response to the current ownership and current management of the Miss USA brand," she tells USA TODAY. "They are the ones that are responsible for Noelia and Uma's mental health decline. And it was documented that they knew it and they did nothing about it.

Voigt said she stepped down due to mental health issues and Srivastava said her values "no longer fully align" with those of the pageant.

In Voigt's Miss USA resignation letter, which was obtained by NBC News Thursday, she reportedly said she would "constantly be threatened with disciplinary action, including taking away my salary, for things that were never discussed with me and, if it related to a public-facing post for example, were causing no issue other than not meeting (Rose's) personal preference."

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As a result, Voigt reportedly said in the letter that she was diagnosed with anxiety.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Miss USA Organization for comment.

In a statement shared with USA TODAY on Wednesday in response to Srivastava's resignation, Miss USA CEO and President Laylah Rose said, "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."

Rose's statement continued, "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."

Engelhardt, who owns a digital marketing agency and has earned a handful of titles from competing in non-Miss USA pageants, says she made the "very tough decision" to leave what she calls a "dream job" with Miss USA after two of her colleagues were let go in late April.

"Them doing that actually was the start of the downfall, if I'm being honest," she says of the staffers' exits from the organization. Of her own departure, Engelhardt says, "I was disrespected at my own job. … And then to see the way that they were treating the titleholders, I was like, you know what? Enough is enough."

The social media manager says she was brought on board in January assuming she would be doing pro bono freelance work and and ultimately did not receive any compensation until April.

Miss USA, Miss Teen USA are reportedly bound by an 'airtight' contract

The week after the organization allegedly parted ways with two employees, Miss USA suffered a historic blow when, on Monday, Voigt said in a statement posted to Instagram that she was relinquishing her Miss USA crown to preserve her mental health. Two days later, Srivastava shared her own resignation in an Instagram post, citing the fact that "my personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization."

However, in Voigt's post, social media users noticed what they thought was a secret message, with the first letter of each sentence of her statement spelling out the phrase "I AM SILENCED" — though this discounts the last three sentences, the first letters of which spell "HIP."

According Engelhardt, the titleholders signed contracts that prevent them from speaking out about their experiences in order to compete in their respective pageants. Denise White, who has been working with Voigt and Srivastava since their resignations, confirmed to USA TODAY that the former titleholders are bound by nondisclosure agreements "that are ironclad and in perpetuity."USA TODAY has requested details regarding the contents of the titleholders' contracts from the Miss USA Organization.

Having not signed such an agreement herself, Engelhardt feels compelled to voice her concerns about the organization.

"The owner (Rose) would constantly weaponize the contract that Noelia signed, the most airtight, egregious, binding contract you'd probably ever see," Engelhardt says. "She would copy and paste every single little clause anytime Noelia would do something that she didn't like and say, 'Well, per your contract, if you don't fix this that I didn't tell you about, we're going to withhold your salary.'"

She adds, "And I don't know about you, but to have to live with that all the time, that is the definition of a toxic workplace."

In Voigt's Miss USA resignation letter, which was obtained by NBC News, she said that as a result of the monitoring of her @missusa posts, "I am now diagnosed with Anxiety and have to take two medications daily to manage the symptoms due to consistently being on edge, worrying about what Laylah will pop up with and choose to harass me about daily."

"To me, it's ironic that this is a women's empowerment organization and you're having a clause in your contract that's silencing your women," Engelhardt says. "Let's really look at the big picture here and say, 'Why would you need such a binding, silencing section of this contract if you weren't doing anything wrong?'"

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'Nothing was done' by Miss USA leadership about a sexual harassment incident

Engelhardt believes Miss USA leadership didn't treat their titleholders with the respect they deserved.

She claims the Miss Universe organization was aware of Voigt's concerns about Rose and how they affected her mental health. She also says that after Voigt experienced someone saying "something that she did not feel comfortable with" – which was relayed to her handler at the event – "nothing was done."

Rose said, 'Well, we can't control what other people say, so, like, deal with it,'" Engelhardt says.

In Voigt's Miss USA resignation letter, per NBC News, she said she'd been sexually harassed at a Christmas event, where a man "made several inappropriate statements to me about his desire to enter into a relationship with me" while they were in a car.

When Rose was informed of the incident, Voigt says, she'd responded was that it was par for the course for the job.

USA TODAY has asked the Miss USA Organization to comment on claims that the titleholders' concerns about their wellbeing going unaddressed.

Miss USA, Miss Teen USA were allegedly prevented from posting on their Instagram accounts

Another way the organization suppressed its titleholders, Engelhardt says, is by taking away their access to the @missusa and @missteenusa accounts.

Typically, pageant winners post on the reigning titleholder's account, as well as their own personal pages, to share their latest efforts.

She claims Rose would sometimes use these media accounts herself, block certain users and "censor comments" or post comments as if she were Voigt.

On April 12, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA announced there had been a "reorganization" that led to "reevaluating our social media processes. Moving forward, to ensure consistent content the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organization pages will be run by the brand, following industry standards."

"I have yet to see those rules — and I was the social media director," Engelhardt says. "She would constantly make up new social media rules. Or 'This has to be posted from this page, and you can't tag this person and you can't do that.'"

"It was just very messy," Engelhardt says. "From a social media perspective, it was just a complete nightmare."

Miss USA 'will not survive' under current leadership

One solution amid such high-profile departures, Engelhardt says, is for the Miss USA Organization to implement "an owner with a board of directors that are trusted, that know what they're doing and that have the best interests — and especially the best mental health interests — of these girls."

This is necessary for the pageant to survive in an industry with a long history of controversies, she says.

"I don't know how much more obvious things can get that with this current leadership, this brand will not survive," Engelhardt says. "I need it to. I want it to. I'm a fan and supporter of this brand, which is why I'm here advocating for its survival, pretty much. And the only way that's going to happen is if current management is not there."

She says being a titleholder can be an "extremely rewarding" experience and should be "the best year of your life" — with the right director and leadership.

Voigt reportedly said in her resignation letter that "there is a toxic work environment within the Miss USA Organization that, at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment," according to NBC News.

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Miss Hawaii USA Savannah Gankiewicz is the new Miss USA titleholder

On Thursday, Miss USA announced that Miss Hawaii USA Savannah Gankiewicz, who was the runner-up last year, has stepped in to complete the final three months of Voigt's vacated seat.

"I fully support and respect Noelia's decision to step down, and I stand in solidarity with mental health awareness," Gankiewicz said in a statement shared on social media. She added, "To my fellow Miss USA sisters, I believe it's crucial for us to stand united for the future of the organization and the incoming class of 2024 and beyond.

"I pledge my wholehearted support to the new delegates who have dedicated themselves to their state pageants, and I am committed to ensuring a seamless and memorable transition between Miss USA titleholders."

Comments were limited on the joint post, which was a collaborative effort by the Miss USA, Miss Hawaii USA and Gankiewicz's Instagram accounts.

Shortly after Miss USA's announcement Thursday, Srivastava shared a post on her Instagram story that quotes Michelle Obama's famous motto, "When they go low, we go high."

She also shared a message: "Please do not send hate to anyone, while we can't control what is said about us, we can control what we say about others. Even if that means overlooking attacks on one's character.