Why Miss USA is Imploding
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Slate
3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2024
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
When Miss USA abdicated her throne, people noticed that the first letters of each sentence of her resignation letter spell out “I am silenced.” Shortly thereafter, Miss Teen USA stepped down with a letter that opens with a quote from Nietzsche.
What’s going on at the Miss USA organization? Has the idea of a national pageant outlived its usefulness?
Guest: Constance Grady, senior Culture correspondent for Vox.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Okay, Constance, what the heck is happening at the Miss USA pageant. Wild things are happening at the Miss USA pageant. |
| 0:18.0 | Constance Grady reports on culture at Fox. |
| 0:22.0 | Yeah, I mean, how many women with crowns have resigned in the last week? |
| 0:28.0 | It's more than you would think. |
| 0:30.0 | It is more than has ever happened before. |
| 0:32.0 | Both Miss USA and this teen USA stepped down within days of each other |
| 0:38.0 | with three months of their rains left. |
| 0:42.0 | It's the first time anything like this has ever happened in the |
| 0:45.4 | pageant's history. |
| 0:47.0 | Over the last week, what Constance has been trying to puzzle out is how did things inside the Miss USA pageant get so bad all at once. |
| 0:57.5 | The beauty queens who are abdicating their thrones here have for the most part released |
| 1:01.4 | vague statements explaining themselves. |
| 1:04.6 | It's only because of leaked documents and interviews with their families that we know more. |
| 1:09.2 | Allegations of bullying, a toxic work environment, Sexual harassment. |
| 1:14.0 | Constance and I, we went back to the pageant itself to look for clues. |
| 1:19.0 | Tonight, live from the Grand Sierra Resort, |
| 1:22.0 | set in the stunning backdrop of Reno, Tahoe Nevada. |
| 1:24.8 | It had been years since I watched a pageant, so it was kind of interesting to go back and see what they're like. |
| 1:30.0 | Only one of these incredible women will be crowned Miss USA. |
| 1:34.0 | And now please welcome your 2023 Miss USA contestants. |
| 1:45.0 | Unlike say Miss America, Miss USA is really all about appearance. There's no talent portion of this competition. |
| 1:51.0 | Sophie Berzinsky, Alabama. |
... |
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