Miss USA explosion: Resignations and accusations plague the organization

But Ms. Rose did not attend the event. Instead, Jacqueline Voigt accompanied her daughter to the competition at her own expense. (Ms. Rose said she did not attend due to a family matter.)

When Mrs. Voigt and her mother returned to the United States, they encountered more problems. As part of her title, Ms. Voigt expected to receive a salary of $100,000, a luxury car and an apartment in Los Angeles to live in for the duration of her reign. It seemed like a reasonable expectation: during TV broadcast From Miss USA, one of the hosts went over the list of prizes the winner would receive, including an apartment and a car. Although Ms. Voigt’s contract includes a salary, other awards are not guaranteed, Ms. Rose said in an email.

However, in December, Ms. Rose told Ms. Voigt that the organization had secured her a new apartment, according to Jacqueline Voigt. When that never happened, Ms. Voigt, who had already moved out of her apartment in Utah, ended up bumping into friends and family. She confided in the pageant coach, Tom Brodeur, about her housing situation. Mr Brodeur said he jokingly described her as “Miss Homeless USA”.

Finally, in March, Miss USA provided Ms. Voigt with a car and a place to live in Miami.

It wasn’t enough. Two months later, Ms. Voigt resigned. In her internal resignation letter, obtained by The New York Times, she detailed allegations about not receiving her apartment and car in a timely manner. She wrote that being Miss USA had taken a toll on her health, adding that she suffered from anxiety and took medication to control her symptoms.

She also described an incident of sexual harassment when the driver of her car made an inappropriate comment during last year’s Christmas parade in Sarasota, Florida. He asked her if she “liked old people with money,” Jacqueline Voigt said her daughter told her. In her resignation letter, Ms Voigt wrote that the organization failed to support her when she reported the incident.

In late May, Ms. Rose responded to Ms. Voigt in a 10-page letter obtained by The Times. In this, Ms. Rose denied Ms. Voigt’s accusations and accused her of carrying out a “smear campaign” against the organization. Ms. Rose wrote that she “immediately” discussed the incident at the Christmas parade with Ms. Voigt after she learned of it.