Ex- Miss Americas shamed by pageant CEO
Atlantic City, N. J.: Some former Miss Americas who were attacked in emails from the pageant’s CEO are calling on him and other organisation leaders to resign.
Three former title holders who were targeted for abuse in emails to and from Miss America Organization CEO Sam Haskell say the group’s leadership needs to be replaced. Mallory Hagan’s appearance and sex life were mocked in the e m a i l s . Pageant officials wrote that when one former M i s s A m e r i c a died, they wished it had been a different former Miss America instead. And they also mocked former winner Gretchen Carlson.
The Huffington Post reported Thursday on the emails, which it says it received from two sources.
“My hope is that this story that broke will bring light to the type of behavior that’s been in leadership of the Miss America Organization and really help us put in place some people who care and who embody the mission of Miss America,” Hagan said. “Having somebody bully you, demean you, degrade you in any way is not OK.”
In other emails, a former writer for the pageant notes the death of one former Miss America, and muses that he wished it had been 1998 Miss America Kate Shindle that had died instead. Shindle wrote a book critical of the Miss America Organization. Haskell responded to the email, indicating it made him laugh. “The entire board of directors must immediately resign, including and especially Sam Haskell,” Shindle wrote on Twitter.