The Huffington Post has published a confronting exposé on the Miss America beauty pageant, featuring jaw-droppingly sexist emails between several board members, including the CEO.
The emails are from a three-year period, and were provided to HuffPo by an internal source at Miss America. They include derogatory comments about former contestants, including disparaging remarks on their weight, sex life, career and perceived success, and seem to demonstrate an enduring disrespect for the women involved.
Many of the emails are between Sam Haskell, the CEO, Lewis Friedman, the lead writer of the pageant telecast, and board members Tammy Haddad and Lynn Weidner.
It seems like the board had it in for a number of former contestants, if not former contestants in general, as evidenced from this particularly distasteful exchange:
1. Exclusive: In emails I obtained, Miss America CEO @samhaskell, along with other board members and staff, repeatedly maligned, attacked, and slut shamed former Miss Americas.
Link To My Story: https://t.co/fyv26kDt55 pic.twitter.com/XXsHrT3MtH
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) December 21, 2017
HuffPo alleges that the Miss America board specifically targeted former contestant Mallory Hagan, going so far as to change the rules of the pageant in order to torpedo her successful coaching business.
2. Lead writer of the Miss America telecast Lewis Friedman asks CEO @samhaskell: are we the only ones who haven’t fu*ked Mallory? (Miss America @ItsMalloryHagan)
Haskell says: “It appears we are the only ones” – then he goes on to defame her.
Link: https://t.co/fyv26kDt55 pic.twitter.com/svdPmLmesI
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) December 21, 2017
The board members in question also drove Gretchen Carlson, a former Miss America winner and TV personality, off the board of directors by undermining her authority and telling others that she “couldn’t be trusted“.
4. @GretchenCarlson, a former Miss America, served on the board for a number of years. When she refused @LynnWeidner‘s request to attack former Miss Americas, board member, and DC connector Tammy @haddadmedia, called her a “snake” https://t.co/fyv26kDt55 pic.twitter.com/jAetDKzZdD
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) December 22, 2017
She responded to HuffPost’s revelations, saying:
As a proud former Miss America and former member of the Board of the Miss America Organization, I am shocked and deeply saddened by the disgusting statements about women attributed to the leadership of the MAO. No woman should be demeaned with such vulgar slurs. As I’ve learned, harassment and shaming of women is never acceptable and should never be tolerated. Every MAO executive and board member who engaged in such crude behavior and signed off on it like it was no big deal should resign immediately. The Miss America Organization, which is tasked to uphold an almost 100 year old tradition of female empowerment and scholarship, deserves better. I hope all former Miss Americas, state and local titleholders and volunteers will join me in a collective effort to fight for the dignity of this great institution.
Former contestants have taken to Twitter to express their outrage, and their support for Hagan in particular. Many are calling for the entire board of directors to resign or be fired; some commentators are suggesting that the pageant be dissolved entirely.
Full confidence in a man who thinks it’s “perfect!” to call the women who are Miss Americas c*nts. Never mind what he’s repeatedly said about me.
Like what?
Next. 👋🏻 https://t.co/pGTP6ysOJK
— Mallory Hytes Hagan (@ItsMalloryHagan) December 21, 2017
so #TammyHaddad calls @GretchenCarlson a “snake” for having the fortitude to not support this pig Haskell and suggested he hire a private investigator to get dirt on @ItsMalloryHagan https://t.co/J0Gtmhitmp
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) December 22, 2017
.@yashar pic.twitter.com/Aer8XyoCjE
— kate shindle (@kateshindle) December 22, 2017
As a former @MissAmerica contestant, I’m appalled by these allegations. The intelligent, talented, dynamic women of this program deserve more than this kind of “leadership.” #MissAmerica https://t.co/wK9BSeUx82
— Allyn Rose (@AllynRose) December 22, 2017
As someone who competed with @ItsMalloryHagan and is still friends with her 5 years later, I can tell you she is the epitome of what #MissAmerica should be, and Haskell should be banned from the org. Slut-shaming and fat shaming have no place in an org designed to empower women🐍
— Alyssa Murray (@AlyssaFromDE) December 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/cat_justrsistin/status/944058964416843776
I’m confused why pageants are still a thing in 2017? On one hand we’re judging women to give them a fake crown and the other we’re encouraging them to speak out on sexual harassment. Wait what? #MissAmerica https://t.co/E69nSXj88p
— Joey O’Hern (@joeyohern) December 22, 2017
Okay so can we just once and for all be done with #MissAmerica now? These emails are horrible. Clearly these young women’s best interest are not the same interests of the Miss America organization. As we’ve all known deep down all along 😔🙄🤷♀️
— That Bitch™️ (@validatemepleaz) December 22, 2017
Is anyone really surprised that the men who ran Miss America contest are disgusting misogynists? Let’s shut these pathetic remnants of the past down! #MissAmerica https://t.co/gpucQqQSHn
— TXlibrarian, MLIS (@mtjjcatx) December 21, 2017
If @MissAmericaOrg doesn’t immediately demand resignation of, or fire, @SamHaskell, they will bring an already anachronistic organization to an end, rather than trying to adapt it for a better future.
— Howard Sherman (@HESherman) December 22, 2017
Read all of this. Taking down women for your own enjoyment at the expense of an organization that advocates for women is beyond revolting. This piece from @yashar couldn’t be more important right now. https://t.co/HoS1nVlPXN
— Josh Austin (@thejoshaust) December 21, 2017
It’s a bad year for bad men and their enablers, and the only shame is that people had to suffer for so long in the lead up to this reckoning. Read the full Huffington Post report HERE.
