Ex-affiliates sue Miss America leadership

ATLANTIC CITY — A former board member and four states that have had their licenses terminated by the Miss America Organization are suing the group and its top leaders, claiming “an illegal and badfaith takeover” of the pageant.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Atlantic City by Jennifer Vaden

Barth and pageant organizations from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Georgia asked a judge to void the actions of Chairwoman Gretchen Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper.

The organization called the lawsuit meritless and part of “a yearlong orchestrated smear campaign.”

Numerous state organizations have been battling pageant leadership, citing dissatisfaction with the way the group is being run and with how a decision to eliminate the swimsuit competition from this year’s pageant was reached.

Carlson said opponents can sue all they want, but it won’t bring swimsuits back to the Miss America pageant.

“This is the first step in restoring the integrity and credibility of Miss America, which has been a cultural icon since 1921,” said Vaden Barth, a former Miss North Carolina and former Miss America board member who has been among the most vocal critics of the group’s current leadership.

Carlson issued her own statement saying the organization dropped the swimsuit competition for well-documented reasons, including to make the pageant more relevant in today’s society and to stop requiring young women to appear on stage in swimsuits and heels to try to win money for their education.

The litigation comes amid an ongoing struggle by state-level organizations to replace the pageant’s top leaders. The parent group has terminated or declined to renew the licenses of several state organizations and seeks a potential new home.