To lose one pageant queen may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.
Two days after Miss USA stepped down from the role citing health issues, Miss Teen USA also bowed out on Wednesday. In an Instagram post, the winner of the Miss Teen USA pageant, UmaSofia Srivastava, said that her personal values “no longer fully align with the direction of the organization”.
Srivastava’s resignation, coming so soon after the departure of Noelia Voigt as Miss USA, came as a shock to the world of US pageants. The mystery of the double abdication was heightened by each woman’s parting words.
Srivastava, who was crowned Miss Teen USA in September, having represented New Jersey, headed her Instagram note with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche. The German philosopher has been accused of many things, some of them regrettable, but pageant-lover is not one of them.
“There are no beautiful surfaces without a terrible depth,” was the Nietzsche quote Srivastava intriguingly selected.
Voigt’s Instagram sign-off was even more darkly cryptic. Possibly emulating the notorious writer’s trick frequently used by departing journalists to snipe at their unloved editor, Voigt began each of the first 11 sentences of her note with letters that spelled: “I am silenced”.
After the dual resignations, support poured in for the two women on social media. Each has broken new ground with their diverse backgrounds.
Voigt, from Florida, is a Venezuelan American. Srivastava self-identifies as Mexican Indian.
The chief executive of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, Laylah Rose, told the New York Times that her goal at the brands was to “celebrate and empower women”. She promised to provide “truly helpful steps we can take together”, without specifying what they might be.
Three weeks ago Miss USA announced on Instagram that it had revised its social media approach. To ensure what it called “consistent content” across both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, it said, posts would henceforth be controlled by the organization and not by the individual pageant winners.
“Our titleholders were informed in advance of this change once the decision was finalized,” Miss USA said.