New Miss USA crowned following year of pageant controversy

A new Miss USA has been crowned.

After months of turmoil in the pageant universe, Miss Michigan Alma Cooper was announced the winner on Sunday, Aug. 4 at the annual pageant at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

The 22-year-old US Army officer will go on to represent the United States in the 2024 Miss Universe Pageant in November.

“As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro Latina woman and an officer of the United States Army, I am living the American dream,” Cooper told judges during a Q&A session at the pageant finale, per CNN.

“If there’s anything that my life and my mother have taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny: You can make success accessible through demanding excellence.”

First runner-up was announced as Miss Kentucky Connor Perry, while Miss Oklahoma’s Danika Christopherson was announced as the second runner-up.

Cooper was crowned by Miss USA 2023 Savannah Gankiewicz, who was named the winner in May, shortly after the former title holder, Noelia Voigt, shockingly resigned.

Voigt, who was the first Venezuelan-American woman to win Miss USA, renounced her title through an announcement she made on Instagram on May 7, citing her mental health as the reason.

She was the first title holder in the pageant’s 72-year history to voluntarily step down.

After the announcement, Voigt claimed in an eight-page resignation letter obtained by NBC News that there was a “toxic work environment within the Miss USA organization that, at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment.”

“This toxic atmosphere is a serious concern,” an anonymous insider previously told The Post. “There is an urgent need for intervention at the leadership level.”

Voigt also called out Laylah Rose, the president and CEO of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organizations, by name, saying that she was “generally inaccessible for communication” and allegedly “slandered” her.

Rose responded to the allegations in her own open letter, writing: “We are very disappointed to hear the recent false allegations made by individuals speaking on behalf of our former titleholder.”

The letter continued, “The allegations of sexual harassment, toxic environment and bullying are not true. To be clear, such behavior is not accepted, and we can assure you that if such behavior ever occurred, we would take immediate steps to protect our titleholder and provide access to appropriate resources.”

Former Miss New York Thatiana Diaz, 31, told The Post that the reckoning of the organization has been “a long time coming.”

“You have all these different personalities and so many ways in which you’re being pushed and pulled and being told what to do,” Diaz said. “That really does affect your mental health.”

She added: “There are human beings under these crowns.”

Shortly after Voigt’s resignation, it was announced that Gankiewicz, 28, accepted the crown and the title of Miss USA 2023.

“I can’t speak on their experience, but I can only judge from mine and it has been nothing but great,” the former Miss Hawaii told People prior to this year’s event. “I’ve had the best time of my life, the best three months of my life. I’m honestly so grateful that I took this opportunity.”

Meanwhile, Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava also resigned from her title just two days after Voigt because her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”

The title remained unclaimed because last year’s first runner-up, Stephanie Skinner, declined to take the crown.

Mississippi’s Addie Carver was crowned as the new Miss Teen USA 2024 on Aug. 1.

“As the next Miss Teen USA I want to make it my mission to know that every little girl who is just like me once is never alone,” the 17-year-old said on stage Thursday evening.