(CNN) — Alma Cooper of Michigan, a US Army officer, is a member of the U. S. Army. She was named Miss United States on Sunday, becoming the third user to hold the name this year after the surprise resignation of the 2023 winner.
The 22-year-old, who has a master’s degree in knowledge sciences from Stanford University, beat out 50 other contestants in a festival that included costume and evening gown festivals. Connor Perry of Kentucky and Danika Christopherson of Oklahoma were named first and second runners-up, respectively.
“As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro-Latina woman and a U. S. Army officer, I am living the American dream,” she told the justices in a question-and-answer consultation in Sunday’s finale. What my life and my mother have taught me is that cases never define your destiny: you can achieve good fortune through not easy excellence.
Cooper was crowned on equal terms thanks to former protective champion Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, who inherited the tiara in May after Utah’s Noelia Voigt resigned under highly debatable circumstances.
The dazzling televised event ended three months of turbulence for pageant organizers, prompted by Voigt’s surprise resignation and that of then-reigning Miss Teen USA, UmaSofia Srivastava of New Jersey, a few days later. The exhibit contained no particular reference to the controversy. , even as Gankiewicz called her unforeseen 3-month stint as Miss USA “the greatest exclusive reign in history. “
Announcing his resolution on Instagram in May, Voigt attributed his resignation to reasons of intellectual aptitude. But social media users quickly noticed that the first letter of the first 11 sentences of her cryptic message read “I am silenced,” sparking rumors of a strict nondisclosure agreement.
His resignation letter, later received via CNN, cited delays in receiving awards and a “toxic paint environment” that is “at best mismanagement and at worst bullying and harassment. ” . Voigt also claimed to have been sexually harassed in a public appearance due to the Miss USA organization’s inability to provide an “effective manager. “
Srivastava, winner of the Miss Teen USA pageant (a complementary event, under the same ownership, for older candidates ages 14 to 19), attributed her resignation to a clash of “personal values” with the Miss USA organization. Both women’s mothers later appeared on Good Morning America, with Srivastava’s mother, Barbara, claiming that the beautiful queens had been “abused, abused, bullied and cornered” and that their “dream assignment turned out to be a nightmare. “
Organizers and the pageant’s parent company, the Miss Universe Organization, did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment at the time of the double resignation. Miss United States president Laylah Rose issued a statement in late May, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, refuting Voigt’s claim. Accusations.
The evening’s proceedings began with an elimination, with the 51 competitors whittled down to just 20 based on the judges’ scores at Saturday’s opening festival. The effects of a costume festival saw the box reduced to 10 before an evening wear show.
The final five were asked the same question: “How can we bridge the gap between other cultures and encourage and respect?” »
The television finale, brought to you by Garcelle Beauvais of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and host of E! News Keltie Knight brought the pageant back to California for the first time since 2007.
The judges included shoe designer Jojo Bragais and former Miss United States Carole Gist and Lu Parker.
Sunday saw the first Miss United States pageant since its owner, the Miss Universe Organization, lifted a long-standing age restriction that prevented those over 28 from competing. Several finalists benefited from the new rule, including Kristina Johnson, 41, of Arizona, and applicants from Montana, North Dakota, Maryland and Indiana, all in their 30s.
In other firsts, Bailey Anne Kennedy of Maryland was the first transgender contestant from her state to reach the finals, and Shavana Clarke of Connecticut arrived as “the first unabashedly lesbian holder of the Miss United States title,” according to organizers.
Sunday’s finale comes three days after Mississippi’s Addie Carver was named Miss Teen USA, a name that has remained vacant since Srivastava’s resignation (last year’s first runner-up, Stephanie Skinner, declined to win the name). . Seventeen-year-old Carver is a dance instructor, entertainer and choreographer who has used her platform to speak about the intellectual health of young people and tells the judges about his own struggles following the death of her father. “As the next Miss Teen USA, I need to make it my project to know that each and every little woman who was once like me is never alone,” she said on stage Thursday night.
Cooper will now compete in the Miss Universe 2024 pageant, which will take place in Mexico later this year.
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