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On May 6, Miss USA 2023 Noela Voigt relinquished her title and crown, citing the need to focus on her mental health. Two days later, on May 8, following in her footsteps, Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava also resigned from her position on the ground that her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”
In the wake of this, their mothers, Jackeline Voigt and Barbara Srivastava, appeared on Good Morning America on May 14 to discuss their daughters’ sudden departures from the Miss USA organization. In this regard, the latter mentioned:
"The job of their dreams turned out to be a nightmare. We could not continue this charade. The girls decided to step down, give [up] their dream of a lifetime, a crown, a national title -- why would two girls -- decide to give that up?"
Barbara Srivastava further claimed that her daughter was “bullied” by the management, and missed out on several opportunities associated with the Miss Teen USA title, which is why she decided to step down.
Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt’s mother alleged that her daughter was made to sign an NDA
During a recent interview with Good Morning America (GMA), the mothers of Noelia Voigt and UmaSofia Srivastava opened up on behalf of their daughters. They talked about their daughters’ resignations and called for a change in the working environment within the Miss USA organization.
Jackeline Voigt said to GMA that her daughter received “unwanted advances” from a stranger during the last Christmas parade.
"I saw Noelia so stress[ed] out. And I said, 'What happened?' And she said, 'Mom, get in the car. Get in the car.' When I got in the car, I say, 'What happened?’ because I know he say something, but I couldn't get it. He told Noelia, 'Are you into old men with money,' and made Noelia very, very uncomfortable," Voigt said.
When asked whether the fan speculation that Noelia’s resignation post on Instagram had the hidden message of “I am silenced,” Jackeline mentioned that she wasn’t comfortable answering the question but informed that her daughter was tied by an NDA just like UmaSofia, adding that it should be “lifted” and the girls “need to speak.”
Meanwhile, Barbara Srivastava observed how a “dream” of a lifetime turned out to be a “nightmare” and the “crown” started to weigh heavier than it was. The New Jersey native alleged that UmaSofia’s social media was under surveillance by the Miss USA organization, which made her feel controlled and manipulated.
"I want to be clear, it's not about what they didn't get, about the prizes. It's about how they were ill-treated, abused, bullied, and cornered," the former Miss Teen USA 2023’s mother claimed.
Ms. Srivastava further noted how her high school junior daughter was skeptical about stepping down, but after Noelia’s resignation, she was convinced and decided to “follow suit.”
“When she [UmaSofia] saw that they were tying [in] Noelia’s mental health [to her resignation], she said, ‘I cannot stand for this. I need to stand up [for] Noelia,’” the mother remembered.
Jackeline Voigt recalled how Miss USA President and CEO Laylah Rose responded to the Christmas parade incident by saying that it wasn’t possible for the organization to “prevent” people from saying things during public events.
“[Not] even, ‘I’m sorry that you went through that?'... After she resigned, Noelia came back home… I had my Noelia back. She was so upset. This is not what she worked so hard for,” the mother of former Miss USA 2023 added.
Together, the mothers even called for the resignation of Rose and demanded that the Miss USA brand take responsibility for their actions, and “come out and speak to us [and] apologize or clean this mess.”
So far, Rose has not issued a statement in response to the mother’s statements and accusations. However, previously, the pageant told ABC News,
"We are committed to fostering a healthy, communicative, and supportive environment for all contestants, state titleholders, national titleholders, and staff."
As part of the GMA session, Jackeline and Barbara also warned future Miss USA contestants as well as their families and friends. The former stated,
“Look at what happened to Noelia and UmaSofia. So, really, pay attention. We don’t want them to go through this right now. It’s not the right time to participate.”
Barbara echoed similar sentiments and said how they don’t want anybody else to “go through” what they went through, and asked young girls to rethink whether they want to participate in the pageants, reminding that NDAs prevented Noelia and UmaSofia from personally speaking on their experiences.
Meanwhile, CW, the broadcast partner of Miss USA told GMA that they were “evaluating” their association with the organization, and looking into the allegations and dual resignations.
Notably, apart from Noelia Voigt and UmaSofia Srivastava, Miss Teen USA 2023 runner-up Stephanie Skinner also relinquished her title and crown. Likewise, the Miss USA brand’s social media manager Claudia Michelle also stepped down last week in solidarity with the others.
