There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Miss USA 2022,
The organization favored R'Bonney Gabriel before she won, according to contestants.
Crystle Stewart, the president of the Miss USA, has been put on leave.
Fans of the Miss USA contest noticed something different when R'Bonney Gabriel was crowned. Many of Gabriel's competitors walked off the stage at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada.
There were allegations from contestants that Gabriel, who became the first Filipino American to win the crown, was favored to win before the official selection of the winner was made.
The president of the Miss USA organization, Crystle Stewart, and her company, Miss Brand Corp., were accused of rigging the contest to favor Gabriel.
Mikala McGhee, Miss Missouri, told Insider that a lot of the girls felt that the organization's plan was for R'Bonney to win.
McGhee said that she didn't intend to knock Gabriel when she walked off the stage. It was to let everyone know that we had an idea of what was going on. She said that they were paraded around for a show.
The Miss Universe Organization started an investigation after the ceremony. The organization told Insider that Stewart had been suspended indefinitely and that she was cooperating with the investigation.
More than a dozen Miss USA contestants said this year's competition was rigged. Gabriel and Miss USA's national sponsors had conflicts of interests.
Miss Texas USA is sponsored by two of Miss USA's national sponsors: Miss Academy and Mia Beauté. Gabriel lived in Houston before becoming Miss USA.
The official coaching school of Miss USA gave more money to Miss Texas than it did to all of the contestants, according to Heather Lee O'Keefe. Stewart didn't deny that claim.
Angel said that Gabriel had personal relationships with judges who served on the judges' panel during pageant week, which was an extreme conflict of interests.
Gabriel was given $10,000 by Mia Beauté as the winner of Miss Texas 2022. Gabriel was featured on the company's Facebook page months before the competition began. She appeared in a photo with another person.
She won the costume competition the night before her crown. The state costume contest doesn't count towards the final score for Miss USA, but many contestants were disappointed to see Gabriel know one of the judges. He did not reply to the request for comment.
The day after Gabriel won Miss USA, a promotional video of her receiving treatments at Mia Beauté's spa at the Nizuc Resort in Cancn was posted on the resort's social media pages.
The post came after Miss USA held a weeklong retreat for the class in the last week of June, but Gabriel and Miss Colorado weren't in attendance because they hadn't won their state contests yet. They were crowned on the 3rd.
Insider has learned that Gabriel had an unfair advantage with the two sponsors because he was shown on a solo trip to the Mexican resort.
Stewart said Gabriel was invited to do a promotional video shoot at the end of July and that she paid her own way there. Gabriel said during an episode of "The Rundown" that she paid for her own flight and shot the video while she was Miss Texas.
The video caused many Miss USA contestants to speak out, believing it was proof that Gabriel had already been chosen to win the Miss USA contest. The Miss USA organization allowed Gabriel to work with a major sponsor just weeks before the competition.
When a national sponsor offers more to their home state girl, things get messy.
McGhee said that after the video was released it was obvious that something wasn't right. It was the first time I really thought that we had just been defeated. It's big time.
According to McGhee, there had been allegations of rigging weeks before she set foot in Reno. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. I didn't think it was gossip.
Stewart and her company, Miss Brand Corp., were suspended immediately after the Miss Universe Organization held a town hall.
An email obtained by Insider states that the Miss Universe Organization will take over the Miss USA program. Holland & Knight will lead the investigation and the findings will be used for the appropriate action.
Insider was told by the Miss Universe Organization that the investigation is still going on. Stewart was complying with all requests from Miss Universe, according to her spokesman.
Stewart told Insider that the well-being of each and every contestant was a top priority before she was suspended.
She said the allegations against the Miss USA Organization are misleading and against everything she stands for. I respect the voices of the Class of 2022, and every woman's right to have their voice heard, and I learned firsthand the importance of a fair and unbiased competition.
The purchase of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA licenses by Stewart in November 2020 was met with a lot of fanfare.
Stewart won the Miss USA crown in 2008 and was the former director of the Miss Houston contest. She was the first black woman to hold the title of Miss USA.
Stewart's school, Miss Academy, is part of the Miss Brand Corp. Stewart wrote a letter to fans on the pageant's website and said that she would make the competition relevant again. She referred to it as "Pageantry Re reimagined."
A stereotypically slim woman with big hair and superb polish is what most people think of when they think of a beauty queen. Our goal is to catapult our competitions into the mainstream audience by showing people the confidence and power that can come from being in a competition.
Stewart responded to the decline in interest in Miss USA with "Pageantry Reimagined". By the late '70s, the show had racked up nearly 40 million viewers, making it one of the most watched shows of all time.
But as time went on, so did the ratings.
Stewart's reign became mired in controversy as soon as it began.
Several contestants said that Max Sebrechts, Stewart's husband, had sexually harassed them during the competition.
The Miss Universe organization requested a review after they were made aware of the allegations against Sebrechts.
New protocols and processes were put in place after Miss Brand removed an employee from its organization.
Sebrechts was going to step down as vice president in January 2022. Sebrechts was focused on other business ventures and did not mention the allegations, according to the letter.
Stewart and Sebrechts have separated, according to a source. Sebrechts didn't reply to the request for comment.
The contestants told Insider that their decision to speak out was not an attack on Gabriel, who denied allegations that the contest was rigged. The news is happening. She didn't say anything when Insider asked for comment.
Gabriel could have won Miss USA, according to Heather O'Keefe.
She said it was terrible that they were tainting her year with all of the favoritism. She's deserving of the title because she's gorgeous. This isn't about R' Bonney. It's about the Miss USA organization.
Mikala McGhee said that Stewart's Miss Brand being affiliated with Miss USA is a conflict of interests.
The contestants hope to bring change for women who may have spent years of work and thousands of dollars to compete on that stage.
Many of my sisters are speaking out against what we experienced because we are given the opportunity to use our voices to stand up for what we believe in and be a voice for the unheard. The longevity of what Miss USA is about is something we want to protect.
"We've put our reputation on the line to be a voice for this in hopes that change will come for future women," she said. This is our interpretation ofPageantryReimagined.
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