Miss America Organisation top execs resign after leaked emails exposed abuse against pageant winners

The top leadership of the Miss America Organisation has resigned after being implicated in an email scandal that exposed abuse against targeted pageant winners. [caption id=“attachment_4275951” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Sam Haskell. Twitter@NBCNews[/caption] Miss America Organization CEO and executive chairman Sam Haskell has resigned after a Huffington Post report exposed internal communications that contained inappropriate language. Josh Randle, COO and president of the organization, and Lynn Weidner, board chair, have also resigned, as reported by Variety. According to the leaked emails, Haskell’s behavior behind closed doors showed he regularly maligned, fat-shamed and slut-shamed the former Miss Americas, calling them shocking names and in one case laughing at the suggestion that one of the women should die. Haskell had apologised for using poor judgment but also denied the Huffington Post’s report on his email exchanges, as reported by Variety. In the fall out of the revelations, Miss America Organisation has posted a statement.

Update from the Board of Directors... pic.twitter.com/W8am9ii2fM

— Miss America HQ (@MissAmericaHQ) December 23, 2017

Haskell had been facing severe backlash and pressure to resign with 49 former Miss Americas issuing a joint statement calling on the pageant’s bosses to resign, as reported by Variety.  The emails have also cost the pageant its television production partner who has cut all ties in the aftermath of the revelations and the future of the nationally broadcast event from Atlantic City is currently unclear, as reported by ABC.