Miss America leaders resign amid scandal
Three officials step down after offensive emails leaked
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.— The top leadership of the Miss America Organization, implicated in an email scandal that targeted past pageant winners for abuse based on their appearance, intellect and sex lives, resigned on Saturday, with the outgoing president apologizing to a winner whose weight he ridiculed.
The president, Josh Randle, said his comment responding to an email to his private account about the physical appearance of 2013 winner Mallory Hagan came months before he started working for the Miss America Organization in 2015. But he said it was wrong.
“I apologize to Mallory for my lapse in judgment,” Randle said. “It does not reflect my values or the values I worked to promote at the Miss America Organization.”
Randle said his resignation was voluntary and had not been requested by the board of Miss America, which is based in Atlantic City.
Hagan did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment on the resignations.
Randle was one of three top Miss America officials to resign Saturday over the scandal, which began Thursday when the Huffington Post published leaked emails showing pageant officials ridiculing past Miss Americas, including crass and sometimes vulgar comments about them.
CEO Sam Haskell and chairperson Lynn Weidner also resigned on Saturday.