2023-09-30 04:39:00
(CNN) — Noelia Voigt, a young woman of Venezuelan origin from Utah, was crowned the new Miss USA in Reno, Nevada, at the culmination of the 2023 pageant at the Grand Sierra Resort on Friday night, broadcast live on the CW Network. Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii came in second.
Voigt, 23, beat out 50 other state champions in the contest. At the start of the television competition, the number of finalists was reduced to 20, and to five (Voigt, Gankiewicz, Jasmine Daniels of Pennsylvania, Lluvia Alzate of Texas, and Alexis Loomans of Wisconsin) after the swimsuit rounds and evening dress.
When asked what she would bring to the Miss Universe Organization as a “brand ambassador” and Miss USA in the final round of questions and answers, Voigt highlighted her status as a “bilingual Venezuelan-American” and promised that she would connect with diverse communities in the United States. Joined.
Judges included Vivica A. Fox, former “Real Housewife” Luann de Lesseps and beauty blogger Patrick Starrr.
The pageant was intended to offer “a modern and progressive approach to a 70-year-old tradition,” Miss USA Organization president and CEO Laylah Rose said in a statement released in early September. Following a recent rule change introduced by the Miss Universe Organization, this year’s Miss USA pageant featured the first married candidate from one state: Juliana Morehouse-Locklear, from Maine. (Morehouse-Locklear, daughter of a contestant in the 1994 Miss USA pageant, did not make the top 20.)
The recent controversy of Miss USA
Voigt succeeds Miss USA 2022, Morgan Romano, of North Carolina. Romano took over from Texas’ R’Bonney Gabriel, who was crowned Miss Universe 2022 in January.
Gabriel’s victory in the Miss USA 2022 pageant was marred by the affirmations from some of her classmates that the contest had been “rigged” in her favor.
In the weeks following her coronation in October 2022, Miss USA’s parent company, the Miss Universe Organization, opened an investigation and suspended then-Miss USA national director Crystle Stewart and her company, Miss Brands.
Both Gabriel, Stewart and other managers refuted the accusations. Gabriel declared at the time to E! News: “There was no unfair advantage and nothing was rigged,” while Stewart said in a statement: “The last thing I would want to do is discredit or deny contestants equal opportunities in a fair competition. I would never jeopardize my dream of leading an organization that empowers these young women.
In August, the pageant announced the end of its collaboration with Stewart.
In a statement confirming that a “thorough investigation” into the allegations had found them to be false, Miss USA said that, “after much discussion and consideration, (the Miss Universe Organization) and Crystle have been unable to reach an agreement on the continued participation of Crystle and Miss Brand (…) Crystle has decided to take advantage of the success she has had with the Miss USA Organization to pursue other business passions.”
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