The Miss USA organization has been getting a lot of attention lately. Miss USA Noelia Voigt recently announced that she has decided to resign from her title of Miss USA 2023. Just two days later, Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava also released a statement saying that she's stepping down. UmaSofia said that her "personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization," while Noelia said she made the decision because of her mental health.
Now, former Miss New York Thatiana Diaz has spoken up about how the organization impacted her mental health.
Speaking to the New York Post, Thatiana, 31, who was crowned Miss New York in 2015, explained how pageantry impacted her mental health.
"You have so many people dissecting you and judging you," she explained, adding that she "wasn't prepared" for it.
Before Miss USA and Miss Teen USA announced their resignations, the Miss USA social media director also announced that she was resigning and shared a statement on Instagram. In her statement, the former social media director, Claudia Michelle, mentioned "toxicity" and "bullying."
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In her statement, Claudia referenced Noelia. Claudia said that she has “unfortunately seen a decline in [Noelia's] mental health." She added that "her ability to share her story and her platform have been diminished."
To add to the controversy, social media users noticed that the statement that Noelia shared on Instagram might contain a hidden message. If you put the first letter of the sentences in her statement together, they spell out "I am silenced."
These allegations are not surprising to Thatiana, as she felt that it was hard for her to truly be herself when she was involved with the organization.
Similar to the way that Claudia alleged that Noelia and UmaSofia were "unable to share about their personal advocacies on social media," Thatiana told the New York Post that she "felt like there was so much more to me" than what the organization was trying to portray.
"They were trying to sell me as this, like, hot, spicy Latina," she explained to the outlet, adding that she was uncomfortable with it.
“I did feel essentially bullied," she told the outlet.
After all, the people who participate in pageants are human. She believes that the recent controversy "was a long time coming," as per the New York Post.
"There are human beings under these crowns," she told the outlet.
She believes that pageantry is currently at risk, but it's also having a moment right now due to the controversy, which means there's an opportunity for change.
Thatiana called it "a big turning point in which pageantry can decide if they want to go the right way — or the wrong way," as per the New York Post.
