UmaSofia Srivastava, Miss Teen USA 2023, on Wednesday, gave up her crown, just two days after Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt relinquished her title. In a statement shared to her Instagram, the Mexican-Indian American teen provided a cryptic reason for her resignation, stating that “my personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organisation.”
The 17-year-old wrote that this wasn’t how she saw her “reign coming to a close,” and expressed gratitude for all the support from her family, state directors, fellow contestants, and fans since winning her state title. She wrote that she would always “look back on my time as Miss NJ Teen USA fondly”, adding that the experience of representing her state as a “first-generation Mexican-Indian American at the national level was fulfilling in itself.”
The New Jersey teenager said that she was “excited to continue my advocacy for education and acceptance” through her multilingual children’s book, ‘The White Jaguar’ and with “the organisations that I have had the privilege to work with long before I started competing, namely The Lotus Petal Foundation and the Bridge of Books Foundation”. She is currently working on a “new writing project.”
Ms Srivastava further mentioned that she would soon apply to colleges, “looking forward to the rest of the year as I finish 11th grade as part of the National Honour Society”, adding that her “academic career has been defined by hard work and my hard work alone.”
Concluding, she thanked those who supported her for “who I am and have always been, not for who I’ve momentarily become.” She counted herself lucky for having had “the privilege of this experience.”
“I know that the story of my life will truly be incredible,” she added.
Though Ms Srivastava’s sudden resignation is unusual, the timing is even more curious. It coincides with Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt’s recent return of her own crown. Ms Voight, who was crowned in September 2023, revealed in an Instagram post, “In life, I strongly value the importance of making decisions that feel best for you and your mental health.”
All of this suggests that there may be developments brewing within the pageant company, once owned by former US President Donald Trump (from 1996 to 2015).
