2022 was an interesting year for Miss USA. Though allegations that former Miss USA president Crystle Stewart rigged the competition were deemed false, the Miss Universe Organization still ended its partnership with her. The news was announced in August 2023.
In a statement, the Miss Universe Organization wrote, "Crystle has been a trusted friend of the organization, an exemplary titleholder, and has consistently demonstrated her unwavering dedication and commitment to both the Miss Universe Organization and the Miss USA pageant. After a thorough and extensive investigation, it was found that accusations of rigging of the 2022 Miss USA Pageant were false." But a former Miss USA contestant is not convinced.
New York Post reported that former Miss Montana Heather Lee O’Keefe said a documentary about Miss USA shows that something is not quite right. In the New York Times/FX documentary How to Fix a Pageant, some have noticed that Crystle looks visibly uncomfortable. Her lawyer also had to help her respond at one point. To Heather, it seems pretty suspicious.
“I think that shows she maybe had something to hide, or she’s just trying to cover her tracks," Heather said, as reported by New York Post. “I don’t think it really looked well for her,” the former contestant added.
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When the Miss Universe Organization announced that Crystle would no longer be president, it was reportedly not because of the allegations against her. "Sincere gratitude to Crystle and the entire Miss Brand staff and employees for their unwavering cooperation and transparency throughout the entire investigation. Their willingness to provide full assistance and support during that challenging time is a testament to their professionalism and integrity," the statement from the organization read.
The specific reason for Crystle's departure was not made clear in the statement. "However, after much discussion and consideration, MUO and Crystle were unable to reach an agreement as to Crystle and Miss Brand’s continuing involvement with Miss USA and the Miss Universe Organization," the statement continued. "Crystle has decided to leverage the success she has had with the Miss USA Organization to pursue other entrepreneurial passions."
The investigation was launched due to allegations that the 2022 Miss USA pageant was rigged. Contestants felt that the winner of the pageant, Miss Texas R’Bonney Gabriel, was selected in advance, not giving other contestants a fair chance.
One of the contestants who made these claims was Heather. In a video shared on TikTok, she said, "most of the Miss USA contestants feel very strongly that there was favoritism towards Miss Texas USA and we have the receipts to prove it."
Heather added that there was something off about the moment Miss Texas was crowded. She pointed out that contestants are usually surprised when they hear their names announced, but the announcement did not seem to inspire this reaction within Miss Texas. Heather also made a video pointing out how none of the other contestants stayed on stage to congratulate Miss Texas.
New York Post reported that after the investigation, the contestants were not given more information about what was discovered, other than that the competition was allegedly "not rigged." Heather told the outlet that there were rumors about Miss Texas being a favorite before the competition, but there are often rumors like this and the contestants still had some faith that the competition would be fair.
"I think the reason why we all just walked off stage immediately after and weren’t shocked at all is because we had this in the back of our minds this whole time we saw the special treatment that she had gotten," Heather told the publication.
The Miss USA controversies were not limited to allegations of rigging the competition. Insider reported that Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst died by suicide around the time of the start of the competition, but contestants were not offered mental health support. Crystle's husband, Max Sebrechts, was vice president before being removed in 2022 due to sexual harassment allegations.
How to Fix a Pageant is a New York Times Presents documentary that addresses these allegations. In addition to looking at the scandals, the documentary also discusses the history of pageants. "Every single person we talked to — even if they felt they had been done dirty or they didn't get a fair share or they've been maligned — literally, every single woman who had ever participated in [pageants] in any respect was like, 'I do not want pageants to die,'" the director, Nicole Rittenmeyer, told Salon.
