“The job of their dreams turned out to be a nightmare,” Barbara Srivastava said on Good Morning America on Tuesday, sitting alongside Jackeline Voigt. “We could not continue this charade. The girls decided to step down and give (up) their dream of a lifetime — a crown, a national title. Why would two girls decide to give that up?”
It is the first time the mothers have spoken publicly about the ordeal, which roiled the pageant world last week. It marked the first time a titleholder in Miss USA or Miss Teen USA had resigned, and both happened in quick succession. On Instagram, UmaSofia Srivastava said her values “no longer aligned” with those of the organization, while Noelia Voigt cited her mental health, though her long, cryptic statement seemed to spell out “I am silenced” in the first 11 sentences.
Speaking on Good Morning America, Jackeline declined to answer whether the supposed secret message was intentional. But responding to whether she feels as if her daughter was silenced, she said “She is, and she would be the rest of her life if this NDA is not (lifted).”
Voigt’s resignation letter to Miss USA, obtained and published by CNN on Saturday, revealed a range of allegations against Miss USA CEO Laylah Rose, including a “toxic work environment” rife with “bullying.”
According to the letter, Rose is “actively building a culture of fear and control, the antithesis of women’s empowerment, that is…unsafe for future titleholders and employees,” Voigt wrote. Among the issues, Voigt claimed that Rose failed to provide her with appropriate travel accommodations or an “effective handler,” leading to an incident where she was left alone in a car with a stranger at a parade in Sarasota, Florida, where an unnamed man sexually harassed her, she wrote.
