Making Miss America great again
Troubled organization flounders amid allegations of bullying, silencing
Miss America chairwoman Gretchen Carlson has struck back against the reigning Miss America, saying Cara Mund’s allegations that Carlson and others have bullied and silenced her has led to the loss of US$75,000 in scholarship money for this year’s contestants.
In a Twitter post late Sunday whose authenticity was verified by the Miss America Organization, Carlson, the former Fox News host, said she was “surprised and saddened beyond words” by Mund’s letter Friday complaining of how she has been treated during her nearly one-year reign.
In her letter addressed to former Miss Americas, Mund wrote that she has been bullied, manipulated and silenced by the pageant’s current top leadership, headed by Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper. Both have denied bullying Mund and say they support her.
“Actions have consequences,” Carlson wrote, addressing herself directly to Mund. “Friday, as an organization, we learned that $75,000 in scholarships, which would have been the first scholarship increase in years is no longer on the table as a direct result of the explosive allegations in your letter.”
“The impact won’t stop there,” Carlson said. “We are already seeing a negative ripple effect across the entire organization, and I am so concerned that it will dilute the experience for the next woman selected to wear the crown.”
Carlson did not specify how the scholarship money was lost: by sponsors backing out, donors cancelling promises to contribute, or some other cause. She did not immediately respond to an email seeking further comment Sunday night, and a Miss America spokesman said the reason “wasn’t specified or outlined” in Carlson’s Twitter post, adding he was unable to provide more information.
Nor did Carlson’s letter say how much remains available for scholarships for this year’s contestants. The Miss America Organization said earlier this month it hopes to hand out at least as much this year as it did last year, approximately $500,000.
Mund did not respond to messages seeking comment Sunday or early Monday. But in her letter Friday, she said she was speaking out about how she has been treated, knowing she could be punished for doing so.
“Let me be blunt: I strongly believe that my voice is not heard nor wanted by our current leadership; nor do they have any interest in knowing who I am and how my experiences relate to positioning the organization for the future,” Mund wrote. “Our chair and CEO have systematically silenced me, reduced me, marginalized me and essentially erased me in my role as Miss America in subtle and not-sosubtle ways on a daily basis.”
Mund said she’s been left out of interviews, not invited to meetings and called by the wrong name. When she obliquely hinted at trouble with pageant leadership in an interview earlier this month with The Press of Atlantic City, Mund said she was swiftly punished by having her televised farewell speech cut to 30 seconds, and was told a dress she had been approved to wear in the traditional “show us your shoes” parade cannot be worn.
This year’s competition will not include swimsuits, and pageant officials from at least 19 states have called for the current leadership to resign.
Carlson and Hopper are atop a wave of women swept into power in January after previous pageant officials were revealed to have circulated emails denigrating the appearance, intellect and sex lives of former Miss Americas.
In her Twitter posting, Carlson told Mund, “I have never bullied or silenced you. We’ve acknowledged your grievances and taken many steps to try to make your experience a good one.”
The next Miss America will be crowned at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall in a nationally televised broadcast on Sept. 9.