Miss America Accuses Gretchen Carlson Of Bullying

Cara Mund

In a letter sent to her “Miss America Sisters,” the current Miss America, Cara Mund, says she’s been “silenced,” belittled, and bullied by the new CEO of the organization, Gretchen Carlson, and that she has been researching “workplace bullying” as defined by the State of New Jersey, reports philly.com.

“Ultimately, this is my year in a nutshell,” Mund wrote after quoting the description of workplace bullying, which included “deliberate insults, threats, demeaning comments, constant criticism … and blatant ostracism.”

Her bombshell letter comes a little more than three weeks before the scheduled Miss America telecast from Boardwalk Hall on Sept. 9, leaving the iconic Atlantic City institution in even more turmoil.

The pageant and organization has been rocked this year, first by an email scandal that led to the ouster of its former CEO and board of directors, then by renewed dissension with the new leaders, including Carlson, who eliminated the swimsuit competition and have tried to link the organization with the #MeToo movement, and new executive director Regina Hopper.

“If you want Miss America to be relevant, then the leadership needs to understand she is not a wind-up toy who they can power up to spit out the meaningless words that are put into her mouth, and then put back on the shelf until it’s time to do it again,” Mund wrote in the letter, dated Aug. 16.

The letter was leaked by a representative of a group of former Miss Americas and state pageant directors who have called for the ouster of Carlson and Hopper. They have also threatened a boycott or other protests during the week leading up to the televised broadcast, which current leadership is calling a competition, not a pageant. Many have objected to the changes in the pageant and what they say is a lack of transparency from the top.

In a statement late Friday, the organization said it would be reaching out to Mund “privately” to address her concerns.