Miss Nevada USA Reacts to Noelia Voigt’s Apparent Hidden Message in Shocking Miss USA Resignation (Exclusive)
Written by Rtradio on May 9, 2024
The Miss USA pageant program is facing a shocking shakeup this week, with the resignation of both Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava within the span of just a few days.
On Thursday, Miss Nevada USA 2023, Josie Nicole Stephens, sat down with ET’s Nischelle Turner to share her thoughts on the resignations, as well as what her fellow competitors are saying behind the scenes.
“This is an organization that I have been competing in for 12 years now, and it’s something that I’ve always believed in,” Stephens shared. “It’s an organization that has given women the opportunity to share their voices, and it is heartbreaking that now they’re the ones who are essentially silencing us.”
Earlier this week, Voigt, who won the Miss USA crown as Miss Utah, announced that she would be stepping down from her post, in order to prioritize her mental health. Then on Wednesday, Srivastava said she was also giving up her crown, writing, “After careful consideration, I’ve decided to resign as I find that my personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”
As for what other details are behind the pair’s decision to forfeit their titles, Stephens says that’s a “very important question.” She and dozens of her fellow 2023 Miss USA competitors shared a joint statement to social media on Wednesday, declaring that they are supporting Voigt’s decision to resign and calling on the Miss USA organization to release her from any nondisclosure agreement that might be preventing her from sharing more of her story.
“We have unfortunately not heard very much — just like the general public we are all waiting and pushing for the organization to release those girls from their NDAs,” she shared. “This is an organization that we all believe in, obviously. We put in time and money and competed, so we want to know what’s happening behind closed doors.”
Stephens added that she “noticed” the supposed hidden message in Voigt’s post — some Swiftie-level internet sleuths put together that the first letter of each sentence in her statement spelled out “I am silenced.” However, she said she could not “confirm or deny” whether that was a deliberate tactic on Voigt’s part.
She added that she and her fellow competitors — who have been discussing their next steps in a group chat and plan to address the issue as a “united group” — are asking first and foremost for honestly and clear communication.
“I think the most important thing is transparency — transparency on both sides,” she explained. “I want to hear from the organization. I want to hear their story, as well as [allow] Noelia and UmaSofia the option to tell their story.”
“We need full transparency, especially for the women who are to come after us,” she continued. “They need to know what exactly they’re putting themselves, the situation that they’re putting themselves into.”
Ultimately, Stephens said she can understand the level of stress that Voigt must have been under to push her to resign. Her statement emphasizing a focus on mental health called to mind another former Miss USA, Cheslie Kryst, who won the title in 2019 but died by suicide just over two years later, after battling depression for years.
“You pretty much become a public figure overnight when you are crowned as a pageant queen,” she noted. “That comes along with all the great things and then also all of the bad things — all of the negative people who are trying to drag you down. So do I think winning Miss USA may have had an impact on Cheslie and may have led to that occurrence? Quite possibly, yes.”
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