Savannah Gankiewicz, who succeeded Noelia Voigt after her resignation, stated she was “not stating that anyone’s experience is invalid.”
Noelia Voigt and UmaSofia Srivastava, who stepped down as Miss USA 2023 and Miss Teen USA 2023, respectively, in May, claim that their successor Savannah Gankiewicz has “invalidated” their experiences in recent media appearances, which Gankiewicz denies.
As previously reported, Voigt and Srivastava resigned from their titles within days of each other. Voigt emphasized the importance of “making decisions that feel best for you and your mental health,” while Srivastava mentioned that her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.” The organization responded by stating that the “well-being of our titleholders is a top priority, and we understand her need to prioritize herself at this time.”
Recently, Noelia’s mother, Jackeline Voigt, and UmaSofia’s mother, Barbara Srivastava, participated in an interview with Good Morning America, where Barbara claimed their daughters “were ill-treated, abused, bullied, and cornered.” Voigt has previously maintained that she was “constrained by a non-disclosure agreement.”
The Miss USA organization responded by stating they are “committed to fostering a healthy, communicative, and supportive environment for all contestants, state titleholders, national titleholders, and staff.”
In recent days, Gankiewicz, who took over the Miss USA 2023 crown following Voigt’s resignation, was interviewed by outlets including Fox News and News Nation, just days before Miss USA was set to crown a new queen on Sunday, Aug. 4.
Speaking with Fox News, Gankiewicz said she wanted to “see for myself what’s going on with the Miss USA organization and just see if any of those allegations were true.” She claimed it was “crazy to me that one person could have this experience and make up all these crazy lies” and alleged that Voigt blocked her on social media. To News Nation, she insisted the allegations of “bullying” were “actually the other way around.”
“Now that I’ve been Miss USA for almost three months, I can now say that that was all false,” Gankiewicz told Fox News. “The organization is amazing. Laylah Rose, the president, has been nothing but kind to me, and I’ve just enjoyed every single second.”
Both Voigt and Srivastava have since issued statements on Instagram responding to Gankiewicz’s comments during her recent interviews.
Voigt began her Instagram Story by stating that she was “very disheartened to see a video of someone completely invalidating my and UmaSofia’s experiences as former national titleholders.” She explained that she “firmly” believed it was “inappropriate to comment on situations that we were not part of, and certainly don’t have any full story about, especially on large public platforms.”
“UmaSofia and I are unable to speak on our experiences at all which is disappointing and difficult to deal with when false narratives are being created from all different directions,” Voigt wrote. “If the intention is to empower women, why the need to invalidate their feelings or experiences, and question the character of those who are now formerly part of the organization who have lost their dream, or their career?”
Voigt added that she stands for “showing” kindness and that this week should be “about the contestants and their once-in-a-lifetime experience competing at nationals” instead of “drama” or “trying to prove who is right or wrong, while one side is contractually silenced.”
“I support the contestants who have worked tirelessly to walk across that stage and will continue to give them advice, support, well wishes, and positivity as they embark on this journey regardless,” she continued. “They deserve to have a positive experience and I genuinely hope that they do. Ladies, tune out the noise. This is YOUR time to focus and shine.”
In her own statement shared on social media, Srivastava wrote that she chose to “distance” herself from the organization but “will not stand for someone impugning on my or Noelia’s character.” She asserted her commitment to her “values and integrity.”
“Claiming that Noelia and I were not victims, but rather perpetrators of anything remotely close to ‘bullying,’ in the words of this current representative, is unfortunate, but reaffirms that my choice to distance myself from this organization was the right one,” she wrote. “People’s true colors always reveal themselves, so after months of this representative privately harassing Noelia, myself, and my family, I’m glad that this time she felt comfortable enough to publicly invalidate [our] experiences.”
Srivastava concluded her post by wishing “nothing but the best” to the “representative” — who neither she nor Voigt named in their statements — and reiterated that she will “continue to advocate and volunteer for the causes that have inspired me long before I knew what pageants were.”
Following Srivastava and Voigt’s public comments over the weekend, Miss USA CEO Laylah Rose provided a statement to PEOPLE: “We are not discrediting anyone’s experiences. Savannah has every right to speak on her own behalf as do all delegates. The [organization] has not silenced anyone from speaking their truth and Savannah only speaks on hers.”
Gankiewicz, who will crown her successor on Sunday, wrote in her own statement following the former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA’s Instagram Stories that she is “not stating that anyone’s experience is invalid.”
“Rather, I state that my personal experience was not one of a toxic working environment. That is the allegation I am referring to,” she said.
The Miss USA 2024 competition will take place at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 4, and will be aired on The CW. You can stream the event live on the official YouTube channel of Miss USA.
