THOUGHTS OF MISS USA
2024
And it’s a fourth win for the Wolverine state as Michigan’s Alma Cooper claims the 2024 Miss USA crown!
Speaking of Wolverines... I love that the new 'Deadpool & Wolverine' movie incorporated Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' as it's one of my all-time favorite songs! And Madonna (who now holds the world record for largest concert audience for her concert in Brazil just recently in May 2024) just happens to have been born in Michigan just like the new Miss USA, Alma Cooper! 2024 is definitely a Wolverine year! I don't know how all those connections just came to me!
I think someone just pulled a Deshauna Barber! Michigan's Alma Cooper is also an army girl just like Miss USA 2016-Deshauna Barber from the District of Columbia and you could definitely hear it in the commanding way that she speaks almost reminiscent of New Mexico's Mai Shanley-Miss USA 1984. Michigan has claimed the Miss USA crown for the fourth time and all four winners were trailblazing women on the diversity front as Michigan’s first two Miss USA winners, Carole Gist in 1990 (who was a judge this year) and Kenya Moore in 1993 were the first two black Miss USAs, then Rima Fakih won in 2010 being the first Lebanese and partially Muslim woman to do so and now Alma Cooper is of Afro-Latina descent having a Mexican mother and African-American father. Alma serves as a 2nd lieutenant and Military Intelligence Officer in the United States Army. She graduated in the top 5% of her class from Westpoint. Alma is 22 years old (born on March 17, 2002) making her the first Miss USA winner born in the new millennium/the 2000s. Alma will represent the USA at this year's Miss Universe pageant in Mexico so perhaps a Mexican audience won't be so willing to boo an Afro-Latina woman representing Estados Unidos this time?? I say this because the last two Miss USAs to compete in Mexico (Kenya Moore also from Michigan in 1993 and Tennessee's Rachel Smith in 2007 were booed during their respective Miss Universe pageants when the Mexican delegate did not advance and the American delegate placed above the Mexican delegate.) And what else did we learn this year? Anomaly delegates need not apply! This year had the age limit of 28 removed and married delegates and mothers were permitted last year but all seven delegates over the age of 28 or who were married or who were mothers did not place and they were: Alaska’s Brenna Schaake (29), Arizona’s K Johnson (41) who is a mother and now the oldest contestant ever in Miss USA history, Connecticut’s Shavana Clarke (29), Indiana’s Stephanie Sullivan (33) who is also a married mother of three boys, Maryland’s Bailey Anne Kennedy (31) who is a married transwoman of Cambodian descent and transwomen have been able to compete since 2012, Montana’s Shelby Dangerfield (30) and North Dakota’s Codi Miller (31) who currently holds the record for the longest gap between competing at Miss Teen USA (2009) and Miss USA (2024) which is now 15 years since the age limit was removed this year. Previously, the record was an 11 year gap which belonged to both Maine’s Ashley Marble who competed at Miss Teen USA 2000 and Miss USA 2011 making top 8 as well as Connecticut’s Marie Lynn Piscitelli competed at Miss Teen USA 2001 and Miss USA 2012.
In what would be deemed perhaps the single most turbulent year in the history of pageantry, we saw much change in terms of removing the age limit so that any woman over the age of 18 could compete for her state pageant and in 2023, women who have been married or are mothers were allowed to compete but only Maine’s 2023 delegate got married after winning her state title but before competing at Miss USA but going unplaced. This year also saw an unprecedented two resignations of the original winners of Miss USA 2023, Utah’s Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023, New Jersey’s UmaSofia Srivastava so we shall see if Alma Cooper completes her reign as Miss USA and if her sister queen, Miss Teen USA 2024, Addie Carver of Mississippi also retains her crown for the full year. As many are aware, on May 6, 2024, with less than 3 months left in her reign, the pageant world was rocked
by a cryptic post on Noelia Voigt’s Instagram account announcing her resignation as Miss
USA 2023 stating in her post, “I realize this may come as a large shock to many. Never
compromise your physical and mental well-being. Our health is our wealth. A million
thank you’s to all of you for your constant and unwavering support. Time to write the
next chapter. I hope you’ll stick around to see what’s next.”
Almost immediately, internet sleuths decoded a hidden message in this post as the first
sentences of this post start with the letters, ‘I AM SILENCED’ so towards the end of
May, Noelia clarified in a post on social media that she was constrained by a non-
disclosure agreement (NDA) which apparently all the contestants were made to sign and
she and even some the other contestants wanted Laylah Rose (the new president of the
Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organization) to waive their NDA and enable Noelia to speak
if there is nothing to hide. The contract that the delegates were made to sign included
things like the organization having the right to terminate Miss USA’s employment due to
facial or physical disfigurement and authorizing physical and mental examinations.
On May 9, New Jersey’s UmaSofia Srivastava
announced her resignation as Miss Teen USA 2023, standing in solidarity with her
sister-queen, Noelia as did Miss Colorado USA 2023, Arianna Lemus who also resigned her
state title on May 10. This quickly garnered the attention of the media curious about
what was happening behind the scenes. Several people claim that Laylah created a toxic
environment including bullying and harassment within the organization and the frequent
staff replacements seem to have reflected this. Noelia declined to give media
interviews due to the non-disclosure agreement but her Venezuelan mother, Jackeline
mentioned some things that had Noelia disillusioned about her reign like that Laylah
didn’t attend the 2023 Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador due to a family matter and
Jackeline paid her way to attend the pageant accompanying her daughter. After returning
to the USA, Noelia expected to receive a salary of $100,000 plus a car and an apartment
to live in during her reign but the prizes appear to have not been guaranteed and Noelia
ended up living with friends and family during her reign. The car and a place to live
in Miami were provided in March apparently but it wasn’t in due time and Noelia seems to
have developed anxiety which affected her health and caused her to lose weight and she
had to take medications due to this. She claims there were also episodes of sexual
harassment including one incident cited by Noelia’s mother where during a Christmas
parade in Sarasota, Florida, a male staff member asked if she was into old men with
money and after reporting the incident and feeling unsafe and they felt the organization
didn’t support her but Laylah claims they discussed the incident but claims Noelia
indicated did not need or want to seek redress. Miss Teen USA, UmaSofia’s mother,
Barbara also described Laylah's communication in emails as abrasive and didn’t want her
bullying her daughter whereas Laylah said she communicated in a professional manner.
These are rocky new beginnings with new management and much of it is quite embarrassing
so non-disclosure agreements would probably help hiding behind-the-scenes things like
this. I’m sure many titleholders experienced some unpleasantness during their reigns
but it must have been at another level to cause this resignation and it was a decision
she would not have taken lightly. There were past instances like this in the late 80s
and early 90s where Miss USA titleholders didn’t necessarily get all their prizes and
took legal action.
Above is a picture of the broken Miss Teen USA crown designed by Mouawad who still serves
as the sponsor and maker of the current Miss Universe crown since 2019 but the broken
crown was never fixed or replaced and you probably noticed that a new crown sponsor has been
named for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA and that is Mexican jewel craftsman, Ricardo
Patraca and we saw the new Miss USA and Miss Teen USA crowns on the 2024 winners. Well, the new crowns are certainly bigger than the previous Mouawad crowns that many compared to party-store tiaras. Bigger doesn’t necessarily always mean better and these new crowns will take some getting used to... if they even last that long. Apparently, the new Miss Teen USA crown had the center star break off shortly after Addie Carver was crowned but it was glued back in place before the finals for Miss USA. The traditionalist in me fondly remembers the Sarah Coventry gown last used in 2002 but I think many people prefer the Mikimoto crown used from 2003 to 2008 then 2018 and 2019 or even the Diamond Nexus Labs crown used from 2009 to 2014.
While Noelia Voigt’s runner-up, Hawaii’s Savannah Gankiewicz did accept the Miss USA
crown after Noelia’s resignation to reign for the remaining almost 3 months, some viewed
it as opportunistic but this is also an opportunity for Laylah to improve the situation and Savannah did complete her reign and seemed satisfied with it also.
Laylah was on hand in Hawaii and Hawaii’s governor Josh Green crowned Savannah as the
new Miss USA on May 15. Some of this has been perceived as a publicity stunt given all
the news coverage it has received but there are probably too many players in this game
for it to be that. Miss Teen USA’s runner-up, New York’s Stephanie Skinner declined to
accept the title however. She said it was a decision that she did not take lightly.
She said what comes before a crown is character and her character will always be a
priority to her and she is a firm believer is letting her actions speak louder than
words and hopes her decision is respected. The 2nd runner up for Miss Teen USA,
Pennsylvania’s Maggie Ross also did not accept the title and I'm not sure that she was even asked or could be reached so the position of
Miss Teen USA remained vacant so Savannah Gankiewicz served double duty and crowned the new Miss
Teen USA and the new Miss USA.
Reno, Nevada was the host city of the Miss USA 2022 and 2023 pageants and
they had signed a three-year deal when then president of the Miss USA organization,
Crystle Stewart-Miss USA 2008 negotiated that deal since the Miss USA pageant was also
held in Reno in 2019 when the late Cheslie Kryst won the Miss USA crown only for her to
take her life in 2022 and thus the 2022 to 2024 deal in Reno was said to be in honor of
Cheslie but management changed hands in 2023 from Crystle’s Miss Group after an
investigation into the selection of the 2022 Miss USA winner combined with some
inappropriate actions from Crystle’s husband with some contestants to Laylah Rose’s VVV
Group who was named the new franchise holder of Miss USA officially as of August 2023
with the pageant being held on September 29, 2023 causing last year to be a scramble so
it looks like the Reno deal was called off and it was announced on June 29, 2024 that
the 2024 Miss USA pageant would be held in Hollywood, California at the Peacock Theater
airing on the CW network with the finals scheduled to be held on August 4. The Miss USA
pageant hadn’t been held in California since 2007.
Several state directors and staff had decided to step down even prior to Noelia and UmaSofia resigning but state directors that stayed were rewarded handsomely like Miss Tennessee USA 1989-Kim Greenwood seeing all three of her teens (Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee) all make the top 5 at Miss Teen USA 2024 with one of them even winning and Miss Ohio USA 1990-Melissa Proctor seeing three of her states (Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio) all make the top 5 at Miss USA 2024 with one of them winning!
Originally, the selection of delegates at state pageants was supposed to begin in August
2023 but Laylah Rose put that to a stop and so some pre-planned state pageants had to be
rescheduled resulting in major expenses being incurred by both contestants and at least
one director. The state pageants had new dates in March 2024. The first state pageant
was Tennessee, held on March 9, 2024, and the last state pageant was Florida held on
July 7, 2024. Some speculate that this more condensed state pageant season may have been
started to discourage statehopping but that certainly didn’t stop some of the
contestants from doing so! I’m looking at you, Vermont! Yes, if you can believe it
Vermont’s Samantha Vocatura won Miss Vermont USA 2024 on June 9 only three months after
placing 1st runner up at Miss Massachusetts USA 2024 on March 10!
Ratings for Miss USA 2024 on the CW measured at 582,000 viewers in the USA and this was the CW’s highest rated show for Sunday, August 4 but the ratings weren’t great especially since it had some stiff competition namely in the Olympics in Paris on NBC while ABC and CBS also ranked above the CW but they did rank 4th for the night, just above FOX. Miss Teen USA 2024 back on TV for the first time since 2007 aired on August 1 pulling in approximately 470,000 viewers in the USA so all the major networks: NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX all ranked above it for that night. But, the CW at least finished 5th for the night so this does boost the CW’s visibility as it is hard to beat the big 4 networks all of which have had their turns airing pageants of some sort in their heyday. It’s not hard to see why pageants aren’t the big draw they once were. This year’s pageant did feel somewhat stale and following the template almost like watching a state pageant with just a slightly higher budget but we have been so used to seeing Miss USA be such a grand production with elaborate choreographed dances so it’s just not as exciting as it once was but the budget also likely just isn’t there so there won’t be any grand events for public viewing since security is one of many costs involved and previous pageants and multiple night outings including buffets and touristy segments and I get that people want the glamourous experience but these things will now be deemed unnecessary expenses. One former employee, Claudia Engelhardt says she was told by a Miss USA employee upon being hired in January that “this organization has no money” and couldn’t pay her but she stuck around for a little while due to her love of the Miss USA brand but she left just prior to Noelia and UmaSofia’s resignations in May.
Now, on to the show itself at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California featuring all 51 delegates wearing their flashy, metallic Sherri Hill cocktail dresses and Sherri Hill has long been a revered sponsor in pageantry for decades so it’s great to see their loyalty and great designs. Then the hosts entered. Entertainment reporter, Keltie Knight returned for a second year but joining her this year was actress, Garcelle Beauvais and they did a decent job. The color commentators were: Morgan Romano-Miss USA 2022 and Patrick Starrr who was a judge last year and they were probably more entertaining. In a short week, they managed to put together some video segments of the ladies in the Biltmore hotel and having high tea wearing fascinators. This year’s judges (I’m glad we’re back to calling them judges again rather than the hoity-toity selection committee) were: Miss USA 1990-Carole Gist (twice mispronounced by the hosts in both prelims and finals as “Jist” but Gist starts with a hard “G” which is easy for someone like me to know since I watched 90s pageants hundreds of times but more recent pageants hardly ever), Anastasia Soare, Natasha Graziano, NJ Falk, Scheana Shay (who only judged finals but not prelims), Miss USA 1994-Lu Parker and the only male judge, Jojo Bragais. Gavin Degraw was also listed as an anticipated judge in press articles but did not appear. A lot of people commented that they noticed the absence of special entertainment or performers like in years past and it even though it probably saves money not to have them, I say we don’t need them and I don’t miss them but maybe we need something to attract more of an audience. At the same time, we should make the show about the girls. Laylah Rose had a pre-taped segment giving a motivational speech about how the Miss USA delegates exemplify resilience and are trailblazers and then she was shown backstage with another woman showing the new Ricardo Patraca crown, scepter and sash. Special awards this year were given after the pageant and it was announced at the coronation ball that Massachusetts-Melissa Sapini won Photogenic and Arkansas-Madeline Bohlman won Congeniality and Madeline is also the first cousin of the reigning Miss America 2024, Madison Marsh of Colorado. Best in Interview went to Michigan-Alma Cooper, Best in Swimsuit went to Kentucky-Connor Perry, Best in Gown went to Tennessee-Christell Foote, Best Impact (Social Media) went to Virginia-Himanvi Panidepu and People's Choice went to Iowa-McKenzie Ariana Kerry.
How did I do with my predictions? Well, preliminaries caused me to do a total overhaul on my list. I had Kentucky as my winner until I saw her Big-Bird-nightmare gown in preliminaries but the judges were obviously extremely forgiving and could see that Connor was a tremendous find and she managed to place as 1st runner up despite the gown and also giving what was probably the weakest final answer of the top 5. Again, it is possible that she didn't want to win given the controversies of the resignations of the 2023 titleholders. In terms of my predictions, I picked 13 of the top 20 plus 1 alternate (Mississippi), 3 honorable mentions (Oklahoma, Iowa and District of Columbia), 2 next tier delegates: Colorado and South Carolina but shock of all shocks, the one delegate that missed my list entirely was the winner herself, Michigan's Alma Cooper!! Oh, boy, and I even said in my second round prethoughts that she was a potential Deshauna Barber so I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. It looks like we’re back in the IMG days and accomplishments are sexy again. After a turbulent past year seeing the original 2023 winner, Utah's Noelia Voigt to resign in May citing a toxic work environment and mental health issues, Noelia's runner-up, Hawaii's Savannah Gankiewicz accepted the title for the remaining 3 months and completed the reign of Miss USA 2023. Will there be more issues over the next year with the current Miss USA organization under the directorship of Laylah Rose who took over Miss USA and Miss Teen USA in 2023? We shall see! What happened to my 7 ladies that didn’t place? Well, Alabama and Louisiana were both very accomplished and very beautiful ladies but I feel like it was decided that they would be excluded as strong delegates due to their state director, Paula Miles announcing she would be resigning after the 2024 season due to the current leadership of the Miss USA organization. Alabama was 2nd runner up at Miss Alabama USA 2023 which was won by Sophie Burzynski who placed among the top 20 last year and the 1st runner up in that pageant was Noelia Voigt who hopped from Alabama to Utah and ended up winning the whole shebang-Miss USA 2023! It was only logical that Alabama place but that she didn’t is very suspect but it’s possible that she didn’t want to win under current management. Louisiana was previously 4th runner up at Miss Teen USA 2020 so it’s interesting that the two top 5’ers from Miss Teen USA 2020 (Louisiana and Oregon) did not place at Miss USA but Oklahoma and South Carolina (who placed lower than Louisiana and Oregon at Miss Teen USA 2020) both did and we have seen many instances of this kind of reversal from Teen placements to Miss in years past. Next of my unplaced picks were the mothers that got to compete with the age limit removed this year and they were: Arizona and Indiana who are both mothers. I am not sure if Arizona is still married but I heard she is a mother so she is being very selective about what she reveals about herself and that she went by K instead of Kristina almost felt like she wanted to conceal her true identity and at age 41 now holds the record for oldest Miss USA contestant in history but I guess she did show signs of age despite being tall, long-legged and being a top 10 placer in the famous class of Miss California USA 2010 that even featured many notable contestants including future Miss USAs like Nana Meriwether who inherited the crown in 2012 and Nia Sanchez who won Miss USA 2014. Indiana is openly married and the mother of three boys but she did have great moves and a great body in prelims. I don’t know if it was the hairline but it seems like anomaly delegates like moms, married women and women over the age of 28 need not apply. Even current Miss Universe co-owner, Khun Anne Jakrajutatip was captured on video saying something to this effect that these anomaly delegates can compete and they will gladly take their money for the entrance fee but they will never win so we’ll see if those words hold true and if an anomaly delegate wins one year. Pennsylvania’s Noni Diarra was one of my early favorites and she is really accomplished and passionate about STEM and possesses that smoldering look that draws you in but maybe her presentation was a little over-the-top in prelims whipping those dreadlocks and a gown presentation that seemed a bit too reminiscent of her Pennsylvania predecessor, Jasmine Daniels whose iconic gown presentation propelled her into the top 5 last year and my prediction to win. Noni fell into the orchestra pit during the state costume competition but I guess since state costume scores don’t count towards preliminary scores, she couldn’t really pull the Miriam Quiambao that West Virginia’s delegate did at Miss Teen USA. Georgia was a great overall candidate but blondes seem to get less love sometimes in recent years. Finally, Florida sent some really worthy and strong contestants to both Teen and Miss but I think there’s something up with Florida’s exclusion kind of the reverse of the favoritism for District of Columbia so maybe there isn’t a strong enough favorability amongst management and Florida’s state director or there’s something else I don’t know about?
ACTUAL TOP 20: |
MY PREDICTIONS: |
Winner=Michigan-Alma Cooper |
Winner=Nevada-Najah Ali* |
1st Runner Up=Kentucky-Connor Perry |
1st Runner Up=Virginia-Himanvi Panidepu* |
2nd Runner Up=Oklahoma-Danika Christopherson |
2nd Runner Up=Alabama-Diane Westhoven |
3rd Runner Up=Tennessee-Christell Foote |
3rd Runner Up=Kansas-Bella Whitlock* |
4th Runner Up=Ohio-Macy Hudson |
4th Runner Up=Illinois-Grace Rodi* |
FINALISTS (alpha'l): |
FINALISTS: |
Colorado-Jessi Kalambayi |
Kentucky-Connor Perry* |
Hawaii-Breea Yamat |
Texas-Aarieanna Ware* |
Massachusetts-Melissa Sapini |
Tennessee-Christell Foote* |
Texas-Aarieanna Ware |
Louisiana-Sydney Taylor |
Virginia-Himanvi Panidepu |
California-Samantha Ramos* |
SEMIFINALISTS (alpha'l): |
SEMIFINALISTS: |
California-Samantha Ramos |
Arizona-Kristina (K) Johnson |
District of Columbia-Kleo Torres |
Indiana-Stephanie Sullivan |
Illinois-Grace Rodi |
Massachusetts-Melissa Sapini* |
Iowa-McKenzie Ariana Kerry § |
New York-Marizza Delgado* |
Kansas-Bella Whitlock |
Ohio-Macy Hudson* |
Mississippi-Kaylee Brooke McCollum |
Pennsylvania-Noni Diarra |
Nevada-Najah Ali |
North Carolina-McKenzie Hansley* |
New York-Marizza Delgado |
Georgia-Emmaline Farmer |
North Carolina-McKenzie Hansley |
Florida-Peyton Lewis |
South Carolina-Gracen Grainger |
Hawaii-Breea Yamat* |
|
ALTERNATES: Arkansas, Utah, New Jersey, Maine, Mississippi* |
|
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Nebraska, Oklahoma*, New Mexico, Iowa*, District of Columbia* |
§ = won online vote |
* = made actual top 20 |
After the top 20 were announced (19 were selected by the judges and the final spot was the winner of the online vote, Iowa), it was time for the swimsuit competition. There were a number of different swimsuits this year from prelims to the beach segment to finals with the ladies wearing Heat Swimwear. First up was Massachusetts and a lot of people really seemed to favor her which influenced me to put her in my list because she was one of those delegates that other people get but I don’t. She was confident and had a nice high ponytail and hoop earrings which is a look I love. I like the patriotic stars and stripes swimsuits as they are very appropriate for Miss USA! You could tell that the choreographer told the girls to do a little confident hairtoss and eye the camera as they walked off stage. Some girls were more natural at it than others. Virginia came up next looking very naturally pretty and had a great form despite being more petite. Her hair was very nice and flowy and she just looked classically beautiful. I’m glad Himanvi got some vindication as I felt she was robbed at Miss Teen USA 2018 going unplaced when she was in my top 5 that year for Miss Teen USA and she also made my top 5 for Miss USA so her making top 10 at least made me feel better. She was one of two contestants of Indian descent in this year’s Miss USA pageant with the other being New Jersey’s Jabili Kandula who went unplaced. Ohio was up next in a white one-piece swimsuit and a flowy purple cape and Macy made my list after prelims because this girl knows how to walk! She carries her great body with such grace and dignified elegance and Macy was originally one of three black contestants with short hair competing this year and Connecticut kept the short hair too but didn’t place and Pennsylvania added dreadlocks to her originally short hair but she also didn’t place and Pennsylvania also fell in the orchestra pit during the State costume competition but recovered but wasn’t rewarded like Iowa was (who also fell in the orchestra pit during State costumes) but Iowa won the online vote. The real beneficiary of falling in the orchestra pit was the Miss Teen USA delegate from West Virginia who was the first to fall but she Miriam Quiambaoed that fall into a top 5 placement at Miss Teen USA! District of Columbia was up next and I feel like they have some internal deal with Miss USA since they have placed in 7 of the last 9 Miss USA pageants with 2016 and 2017 being wins but I think a lot of those placements were undeserved and this was one of them. I’m sure this girl was coached to do all her moves but they were delivered in such a robotic, unnatural, not smooth manner and her panties looked like they didn’t fit properly so I think they were too big and resulted in them being bunched up in all the wrong places and riding up the crack. Also, I felt the neck on her gown was too loose in preliminaries so this was why I put her as an honorable mention in my predictions so she rightfully did not advance here. Michigan was next also in a fitting stars and stripes swimsuit but she certainly knew how to work it. Her walk, moves and poses were so smooth on stage and the bounciness of her hair as she walked was an added highlight and she is very fit so well done, Alma! Show us why you won this pageant! Next up was Kentucky with her naturally fit, tall, athletic dancer’s body and she has a gorgeous face so I’m sure she’ll get some modelling opportunities after showcasing herself on the Miss USA stage. The whipping of her hair and the misaligned collar of the cape might have been overdoing it a smidge but like I said earlier, it’s possible that she didn’t want to win this given the controversies over the past year. Hawaii was up next and looked great. She has a fantastic body and the hair was looking good. Oklahoma was up next and just like prelims, I felt like she wore a swimsuit that was one size too small but it certainly did bring out her sex appeal and I thought a predominantly female panel of judges wouldn’t go for her resulting in me lowering her to an honorable mention in my predictions list but I was wrong about this one and Danika showed us how it’s done and she previously placed in top 16 at Miss Teen USA 2020 before making top 5 at Miss USA 2024. South Carolina was up next and Gracen also placed at both at Miss Teen USA 2020 and Miss USA 2024. I’m sure she’s friendly but she still looked very Teen and the lack of make-up also made me think she didn’t want to win. The long-time director of South Carolina’s state pageants, Paula Miles announced during the Miss South Carolina USA pageant that she was one of the tenured state directors (since 1979) leaving this year due to current Miss USA organization management and she had been running North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama state pageants and I have a feeling this is linked to why Alabama and Louisiana didn’t place when practically everyone expected them to. The red swimsuits seemed to not fit the girls properly. South Carolina’s bra didn’t appear to be the right size. Also, shoutouts to the girl in the audience yelling, "You betta work it, Gracen!!" I love it when people crazily get into it all! Kansas followed with a presentation that was nowhere near how she aced it in the preliminaries enough for me to put her in my top 5. The twirl caused her hair to stick to her face a little too long and the cape whip looked awkward too so I wasn’t surprised she didn’t advance. The panties looked a little granny-shaped too despite the slits on the side. She was also one of the two youngest contestants this year at age 19. Wyoming was the other 19-year-old who went unplaced as expected. Next up was the giant Tennessee standing at “Six Foote Four,” Christell Foote stood a foote above the competition. Height normally means having the advantage of long legs that have long been revered in pageantry. Christell really towered over the competition here. North Carolina looked great and she has quite the pageant history previously holding the titles of Miss North Carolina's Outstanding Teen 2015, Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2017 but unplaced at Miss Teen USA 2017 and Miss North Carolina Collegiate America 2019. I knew to lower her on my list due to her unfortunately wider hips so I knew she wouldn’t advance past swimsuit but she tried her best to hide them and posed well and looked great overall. New York followed with her ribs poking out the whole time and that’s all I could focus on. I feel like we had this discussion 26 years ago but ladies need to remember to practice walking in swimsuit but clamp down the ribs. Nevada followed and she looked beautiful but some say she had a deer-in-headlights look which I get as she seemed somewhat pensive on stage. I put her as my winner after preliminaries due largely to Kentucky and Texas’ unfortunate gowns and Najah is so photogenic with her doll-like face and excellently styled hair but the sad part about this was that she had a perfect chandelier-like gown and since she didn’t advance, we didn’t get to get a good look at it during finals so that was a shame. Mississippi looked good. I thought she had more of a pageant patty look and I think the judges probably thought the same way leading to her not advancing. She had the best placement of her cape and I loved the transition in the music to the piano riff while Mississippi was walking. Texas showed up looking fit and fabulous. I must ask thou once again, ‘Are ye unaware of Aarieanna Ware??’ The judges didst indeed become aware and advanced her naturally. Taia Aarieanna Ware is of the Jewish faith and a custom home builder and she is the third black Miss Texas USA succeeding Chelsi Smith who won both Miss USA and Miss Universe 1995 and Crystle Stewart who won Miss USA 2008 but Aarieanna would let the win of Miss USA go. More about that later. California followed and she is a singer and covers well-known pop music with a Latin twist getting over 10 million TikTok views, leading to her being discovered by Atlantic Records. Samantha proudly represented California as a finalist on NBC’s The American Song Contest. During swimsuit, she was just there. I wasn’t getting much spark or presence from her so I wasn’t surprised to see her eliminated here. Colorado, who was much taller than I initially realized came out in a white one-piece with a cut-out on the side of the stomach area and despite a few stumbles, she did have strong presence. Her styling was reminiscent of how Carole Gist looked when she competed in 1990 so as a judge, I’m sure Carole took a liking to Colorado. Illinois followed and Grace is blessed with a naturally great body. She has that fit, long, lean look and her hair was nicely styled so it was actually quite startling that she didn’t advance. Finally, Iowa (who won the online vote) didn’t fall this time like she did in the orchestra pit during the state costume show which I think will probably be eliminated next year as it’s just a lot of unnecessary effort for something that doesn’t really mean anything anymore. Iowa has a cute look but this was as far she would go. It was interesting to see Savannah Gankiewicz chatting with Morgan Romano and Patrick Starrr given that both Savannah and Morgan were originally the 1st runners-up in their respective Miss USA pageants before inheriting their crowns in very different ways. Last year, all of the top 20 competed in both swimsuit and gown before the cut to the top 5 and to be honest, I would have preferred if they kept it that way this year rather than cutting to a top 10 to compete in gowns because there were some great gowns amongst the eliminated 10. I get that cuts are more suspenseful but I don’t really think it makes much of a difference these days. How great was it to see Myrna Hansen-Miss USA 1953? Sitting next to her was fellow pageant enthusiast, Daryl Schabinger who was instrumental in connecting her with Laylah Rose and getting her to the pageant. Originally from Illinois, Myrna now lives in California so it was easier for her to attend this year's pageant. Myrna was given this year’s Miss USA Hall of Fame sash and award (started last year and awarded to the first Miss Teen USA, Ruth Zakarian who won her crown in 1983). Myrna turned 90 years old on the day after the Miss USA pageant (August 5) and the audience sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her during one of the preliminary events.
Perhaps it wasn’t appropriate for them to mention that Miss USA 1952, New York’s Jackie Loughery had passed away earlier this year at age 93 while her elderly successor, Myrna Hansen was there in the audience but I was shocked that there was absolutely no acknowledgement of Jackie’s passing during the telecast. It would have been nice to see at least a caption in honor of Jackie, the original and very first Miss USA. Well, I did a little tribute to Jackie at the end of my First Round Prethoughts. Rest in Peace, Jacqueleen (Jackie) Virginia Loughery-Miss USA 1952 (April 18, 1930 - February 23, 2024).
After the cut to the top 10, it was time for some gownage. First up was Texas in her orangy-red gown complete with unnecessary pockets under the boobs??? Why??? To store your phone??? The pockets need zippers then... I like the mermaid-style cut but I think this gown needed to be a better color and a more flowy fabric and not so stiff. When I saw this gown in preliminaries, the thought occurred to me that she probably doesn’t want to win Miss USA given the resignations of the 2023 titleholders citing a toxic work environment so was this gown a form of intentional self-sabotage? Well, it worked. Aarieanna did have an incredible walk and posed magnificently. I know they say it’s not the gown, it’s the girl but let’s be honest, sometimes, it’s the gown… To me, Texas’ gown was not a top 5 calibre gown so it was no surprise to me that she was eliminated in this round. Next up, Big Bird…I mean Kentucky wore this gaudy, nightmarish, yellow, excessively-frilled, child-pageant gown. There was just too much going on and the flowery arrangement at the bust blocked our full view of her but it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it, right?? It would have been much better without the flowery ruffles everywhere. Kentucky was my pick to win until I saw this gown in prelims shocking me so much that I dropped both Kentucky and Texas who were my top 2 all along until prelims down to 6th and 7th on my predictions list. I knew the delegates weren’t allowed to change their prelims gown to a different finals gown in the Laylah Rose era but this is a sharp contrast as we have seen changed gowns many times in previous years. The only exception last year was Texas’ Lluvia Alzate whose prelim gown had a broken zipper so Alaska’s delegate graciously let Lluvia borrow one of her gowns which was what we saw her wearing during finals. Connor wore a nice, simple white gown when she won her state pageant so I know she has better gowns but the judges were forgiving seeing how much of a find Connor was and advanced her to the top 5 regardless of the gown. You have to be pretty exceptional for this kind of thing to happen but like Texas, I feel like this may also have been a case of self-sabotage as she also did not want to win given the events of the past year. I hope she cooks that Big Bird gown for Thanksgiving… Ohio followed in a purple gown with an elegant neckline. The sheer material didn’t quite match her skintone and the billowy purple train seemed a bit more suited for Teen but Macy’s grace and stage presence carried her through. Hawaii followed in a sexy purple illusion gown also with the sheer material not quite matching her skin tone but it had nice designs on it and it looked great. Oklahoma followed in a shimmery black gown that I thought was almost too sexy with beaded chains running diagonally across her chest and the skirt meeting at an open circle just below the navel and also dangling down the back. The neckline was reminiscent of the gown that Lu Parker (one of the judges) wore at Miss Universe 1994 so I’m sure Lu gave her high scores. Danika designs her clothes so she could easily switch careers in the near future! Colorado followed in a red beaded fringe gown and her look was very reminiscent of Carole Gist’s look at Miss USA 1990 and Jessi has a great aura about her. Virginia followed in a sparkly, unique light teal gown with sexy cutouts and sheer illusion material with designs running down one leg. It was a very modern twist on the traditional sari which was suitable for Himanvi to wear given that she is of Indian descent. I’m guessing she didn’t advance due to being more petite than the other finalists. Michigan followed with her heels getting caught in the lower part of her dress at first but she kicked it out and worked it well. The gown was a silvery-white liquid beaded gown with one long sleeve and a triangular cut-out on one side below the bust and above the stomach with a slit to expose one leg on the opposite side and Alma worked it well with her hair styled nicely. Massachusetts had her hair up in a sophisticated bun to give that Audrey Hepburn meets Leila Lopes-Miss Universe 2011 look with a nude illusion gown with a sparkly cuff neck, bust and skirt and cut outs on both sides of the stomach and it added a touch of exotic elegance to the competition. Tennessee followed in a black billowy ball gown with her hair up in a bun and the gown had a deep V-cut on the bodice with floral designs below the V-cut and above the skirt and a floral cuff-neck and with her height, Christell certainly knows how to ‘take up space!’
Now it was time for the final five (Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Ohio) to answer their final question, “How can we bridge the gap between different cultures and foster understanding and respect?” Michigan answered in a strong but semi-choked up tone of voice, “As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro-Latina woman and an officer in the United States army, I am living the American dream. If there’s anything that my life and my mother have taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny. That you can make success accessible through demanding excellence – my personal motto. As a data scientist at Stanford University in a multicultural scholarship program, Knight-Hennessy. If there is anything it’s taught me is that success is accessible and through chasing your dreams, you can break down barriers and make a launch-pad for where you’re gonna go.” I think it’s pretty clear that this was a well-prepared answer with convincing delivery and as soon as I heard “officer in the United States army,” I was getting “this is the next Deshauna Barber” vibes and even her delivery reminded me a lot of Mai Shanley-Miss USA 1984 whose father was also in the military. Alma made sure to incorporate her impressive achievements in her answer. Did she really answer the question? It might be buried somewhere in there but honestly, it was all about the delivery and selling herself and after hearing this answer, I knew she had the win and I even had her pegged as the next Deshauna Barber in my second round prethoughts but somehow I developed a blind spot with her and I really hate missing the winner! Next up was Kentucky who answered, “I think education is really important. We just need to educate people on different cultures and uh, then that way, people will know a lot more and just having it be accessible the information to people. That’s really important when people are finding that information because that can sometimes be a barrier. Finding the information out there so just providing accessible information and you know, making it... ready for people to... do!” This answer and its delivery had 4th runner up written all over it so I was actually somewhat shocked that she kept advancing to the top 2 as the other runners-up were called so why was she 1st runner up? We call this the Shawnae Jebbia effect. Some contestants are just so favored and just strong in terms of body and beauty that it doesn’t necessarily matter what they say and it comes down to this thing called overall impression but then again, like I said earlier, she may have not wanted to win but just get as far as she could in light of the resignations/controversies of the previous year’s titleholders. Tennessee answered, “I think our generation needs to listen to each other. Through listening to each other, we can find respect for one another. Right now, on social media, I’m listening to those that follow my platform on Miss Tennessee and I want to bridge that gap by continuing to listen to them as your next Miss USA. Thank you.” I think 3rd runner up was the correct placement here. This answer didn’t seem to have the same level of confident delivery as the others. Oklahoma answered, “Absolutely. Well, first off, as an Operations Director of a six-million dollar coffeehouse operation across the state of Oklahoma, I work with people from all different cultures whether it’s young, elder, black, white, doesn’t matter, I work with so many different people with so many different beliefs and so many different purposes but what’s important is that we are all here to achieve the same mission and once you know you can achieve the same mission, we can get behind each other and continue to support and give each other respect as Americans. Thank you.” Like Michigan, Oklahoma managed to tell us a bit about herself in her answer and I saw where she was going with it so 2nd runner up seemed like a sensible placement here. Finally, Ohio answered, “I’m so blessed to have come from Dayton, Ohio where it’s very diverse and I’ve been taught respect and a love for diversity and I think the most important thing is to understand that there’s so much more that brings us together than keeps us apart. As Miss Ohio USA, I have definitely fostered an area where I can show people that pain is something that we all go through and we can make it through those challenges and that’s something that brings us all together.” Didn’t it just feel wrong for Ohio to be named 4th runner up after this great answer? You could hear an audible gasp in the audience when she was announced as 4th runner up. Sometimes, that’s just how the cards fall.
It was nice to see the new Miss Teen USA, Mississippi’s Addie Carver make an appearance during the Miss USA pageant. Addie was my prediction to win and she is indeed an excellent winner! It was good to see the star in the middle of the crown that had fallen off was glued back in place! Finally, it was time for the final look. It was good that we had these videos to learn more about the contestants because the way the formatting is done now, we don’t really learn anything about each delegate until this point but in previous eras, we would get these kinds of video segments earlier on and even an interview competition but I guess those days are long gone. Michigan said in her video, “Winning the title of Miss USA would mean that I would have the opportunity to show that if you can see me, you can be me. As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro-Latina woman, a data scientist at Stanford University and officer in the United States army, I want to show that through demanding excellence, success is accessible.” A lot of her script from her final answer was also included here but it worked. She said what they wanted to hear, had a slogan and was very prepared. She reinforced that she is a very achieved woman and that visibility and representation matters and she is inspirational with her great message. Kentucky followed saying in her video, “The work that I do with non-profit dance programs and as a dance educator has allowed me to inspire others and help them pursue their dreams in the same way that has been done for me. Being Miss USA means that I’ll get to be a catalyst in making so many more kids’ dreams come true in the same way that my people have done for me. What a privilege that will be.” This was certainly a better speech than her final answer. Tennessee followed saying in her video, “Winning Miss USA means I found my yes. My initiative ‘Find Your Yes’ is fueled by hearing so many no’s my entire life because of how I look and being too tall for so many industries but hearing ‘yes’ from the Miss USA organization would just mean the world.” The judges may not have said yes but I’m sure there are much bigger things in store for Christell. Expressing her final look, Oklahoma said, “Miss USA would mean more than a title. It would embody the spirit of rising up to the challenges that we face and encouraging others to embrace discomfort, train their mind and choose to rise up because with resilience, the universe is limitless.” A very inspirational and motivational speech from the very brilliant Danika. Finally, Ohio said, “Winning the title of Miss USA would mean continuing my message of hope and inspiration. When my sister unexpectedly passed away two years ago, I didn’t see a way through that pain and grief. That’s why I started my initiative, ‘5:18 4LIFE’ to honor my sister’s memory. With the title of Miss USA, I can continue that message of hope to all people.” It was good that they showed this to clarify that the pain she was referring to in her earlier answer about the loss of her sister which was explained here which was good for the general viewing audience that probably had no idea that her sister passed.
Savannah Gankiewicz talked with the hosts about having the most unique reign in history and of course, there was no mention of the original winner, Noelia Voigt as many expected. This was similar to how it was done in Miss Universe 2003 which included a short video clip of original winner, Russia’s Oxana Fedorova walking away with a voiceover of then host Daisy Fuentes saying “When the original titleholder was asked to step down…” and then the video package focused on Justine Pasek who assumed the 2002 Miss Universe crown. It wasn’t easy for Savannah to take the crown given all the backlash and criticism but she endured and said she was welcomed by the 2024 class and had support from some of her 2023 sister queens. A lot of people commented how it just feels wrong to see a titleholder do a final walk without a voiceover of a farewell speech playing while she does the final walk so we’ll see if they change this next year. It was also announced that Louisiana’s Sydney Taylor and Nevada’s Najah Ali were chosen to join Sherri Hill at New York Fashion Week.
In the final act, we saw Myrna Hansen, Carole Gist, Morgan Romano and Savannah Gankiewicz who all cited the Miss USA creed. Then, it was time to announce the results. The 4th runner was Ohio (audible gasps in the audience understandably as this was a shocking placement), 3rd runner up was Tennessee, 2nd runner up was Oklahoma, 1st runner up with Kentucky and Michigan’s Alma Cooper captured the Great Lakes state their fourth Miss USA crown. I don’t think we need the scepter anymore. Another historical first was that this was the first time that two black contestants (even though Alma is half-black on her father’s side) made the top 2 at Miss USA! There were many strong black contestants this year so we could easily have had an all-black top 5 and we were close with 3 black delegates in the top 5 this year but 2002 had the most with 4 black delegates placing in the top 5. A lot of people mentioned that the bouquets given to the winner and her runners-up could have been a lot better but budgets, I guess?? And since we have "A"ddie from "M"ississippi winning Miss Teen USA and "A"lma from "M"ichigan winning Miss USA, does that mean a woman whose name starts with "A" representing a country that starts with "M" win Miss Universe?? Or did I jinx it now that I mentioned it?? So what is in store for the reign of Alma Cooper as Miss USA? The Miss Universe 2024 pageant will be held in Mexico on November 17 so will the Mexican audience dare to boo a half-Mexican Miss USA in the same manner that they did to Kenya Moore in 1993 and Rachel Smith in 2007? Or will she not place at all to avoid the booing problem altogether? Or will she place and be forced to calm down the audience and say, ‘Soy Mexicana too!’ I guess we needed a tough army girl to win Miss USA who could tolerate potential booing from the Mexican audience and could survive a full year reign this time and Alma was it. But will this be another year of resignations under current management or will we have normal, completed reigns? A year can be a very long time so let’s see what happens!
The Miss USAs! Lu Parker (1994), Alma Cooper (2024), Carole Gist (1990), Myrna Hansen (1953)
Miss USA 2024-Alma Cooper, Miss USA 1953-Myrna Hansen, Miss Teen USA 2024-Addie Carver
The Prethoughts - Miss USA 2024
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