Miss Americas urge officials tostepdown

ATLANTIC CITY — Dozens of former Miss Americas called on leaders of the pageant organization to step down in the wake of an email scandal in which the CEO and other officials used crass and vulgar terms to refer to past winners.

The Huffington Post reported Thursday on the emails, which mock some former winners’ appearance, intellect and sex lives. One email used a vulgar term for female genitalia to refer to past winners.

A petition organized by former Miss North Carolina Jennifer Vaden Barth garnered the signatures of 49 former Miss Americas by midafternoon Friday.

The petition called the emails by CEO Sam Haskell and others “despicable” and faulted officials who “sat by without objection while such derisive comments were passed around.”

“We are deeply disturbed and saddened to learn of the sickening and egregious words used by Miss America leadership,” the petition read. “We collectively call for their immediate resignation.”

The Miss America Organization said Thursday night that Haskell has apologized, and that the group is revising its policies regarding communications, adding it considers the matter closed. Haskell and Miss America Organization officials did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

On Friday, the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority began reviewing its contract with the Miss America Organization, which has about $4 million left on it, after numerous local and state officials called for the final year of the deal to be killed.