Was the historic 2022 Miss USA pageant rigged? Its parent organization investigates, then resigns
After years of investigations, and multiple lawsuits, and after a bombshell testimony from former contestant Christina Aguilera, the now-defunct 2020 Miss USA pageant has concluded that the pageant was rigged.
Now the organization that once ran the pageant is facing its own scandals: In the last few days, its top executive has resigned, its board has been disbanded, and an investigation of its internal operations is ongoing.
The organization is in the middle of a leadership transition. After more than a decade of investigation, a panel of judges and the organization’s board were replaced, its board was dissolved, and its executive council disbanded. Two executive directors were reassigned and two executive officers were removed from their posts.
The investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, conducted in secret, was highly critical, and the organization’s executive director resigned from his post on Monday. The board unanimously voted on Monday to dissolve the organization, which is based in Burbank, California, and was chaired by executive director Sarah E. Jones. The board is also reviewing other allegations.
The investigation into the 2020 Miss USA pageant began after a lawsuit from Aguilera and another contestant, who sued the organization after being denied the semifinals. The suit was dismissed, but Aguilera stepped forward to testify at the civil trial. She testified that she saw two contestants with black face paint, and a third contestant in the audience with a black and white eye. She also testified that she felt pressured by host Josh Duhamel to choose sides in the pageant between Aguilera and a contestant. Aguilera was a finalist for the competition, which was the second to be held this year.
Aguilera’s lawsuit said she was “humiliated, embarrassed and outraged” after she lost to the contestant.
“I feel like it was a rigged competition and I never want to see it again,” Aguilera said.
Her lawsuit said she had an attorney that she and her mother told to stop talking to Duhamel. E-mail to a friend
The pageant’s executive director, Sarah Jones, resigned with the board on Monday. The last day of the organization was June 24.
In
