the ugly struggle for the beauty pageant

For more than a century, Miss America beauty pageants have been a cornerstone of American popular culture. From the tiaras to the talent performances, few competitions have held such a nostalgic grip on the public’s imagination.

However, ugly infighting has cast a cloud over the host organisation and threatens to make next month’s pageant its last.

At the heart of the controversy is a legal battle between Robin Fleming, the organisation’s chief executive, who acquired Miss America’s assets in 2022, and Glenn Straub, a real estate developer and casino owner.

Fleming accuses Straub, owner of the Miss America LLC, which acquired the Miss America Organization that same year, of trying to “wrest control” of the company and oust her.

On Friday, Straub filed for bankruptcy on behalf of Miss America LLC in West Palm Beach, Florida. Then on Monday, Fleming sought a court order dismissing the case, saying Straub did not own the company so could not file for bankruptcy on its behalf.

Fleming suggested Straub’s filing was part of a “scorched-earth litigation strategy” aimed at sabotaging the upcoming competition in Orlando, Florida.

Straub, meanwhile, argues that Fleming never had managerial or ownership authority, and that the bankruptcy filing was necessary due to her refusal to grant Straub access to financial records.

In May, Miss America’s board sided with Fleming, unanimously voting to transfer the company’s assets to her.

Straub’s chapter 11 bankruptcy petition reports the company has up to $1 million in assets and between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities; Fleming claimed in her filing that the organisation was not struggling financially and did not need protection.

Fleming, a former fashion entrepreneur, has enlisted a formidable legal team, including Camille Vasquez, who represented the actor Johnny Depp in a civil case against his former girlfriend Amber Heard.

Erik Kimball, the judge, has scheduled a hearing to determine the legitimacy of the bankruptcy case and ownership claims. The date has been set for after January 5, allowing the annual pageant to proceed as planned on that day.

“In approximately four weeks, thousands of people will head to Orlando, with hopeful young ladies and their families in attendance from across the country, to fulfil the chance of a lifetime to compete for the title of Miss America, a title recognised across America and beyond for more than 100 years,” Fleming said in the court filing.

She added in a statement: “I am standing firm not only to defend my name but to protect and uphold the ideals of Miss America, ensuring they endure for generations to come.”

Aside from a blip during the Great Depression and a postponement during the Covid pandemic, the pageant has been held every year since its inauguration in 1921.

It began as a beauty contest on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and started awarding scholarships to winners in 1945, making it one of the first organisations in the US to offer college scholarships to women.

The first pageant to be broadcast was shown in black and white on national TV in the 1950s, when viewers recovering from the Depression and Second World War found welcome distraction in the frivolity of the swimsuit competitions and talent contests.

At its peak, in the 1960s and 1970s, Miss America attracted more than two thirds of the country’s television viewers, a popularity rivalled only by Major League Baseball.

Its detractors today have come to see it as a relic from a bygone era before female empowerment in post-MeToo America.

A scandal surrounding Sam Haskell, the chief executive who was revealed to have been sending disparaging and misogynistic emails about the weight and sexual history of past winners, led to his resignation in 2017 and a rebranding of the pageant organisers to “Miss America 2.0”.

Its leadership promised “a fresh take” for “a new generation of female leaders”. In addition to forgoing the swimsuit competition, participants were no longer to be judged on “outward physical appearance”.

Still, the organisation faced another setback last year with the release of the four-part documentary Secrets of Miss America, which featured interviews with former winners, contestants and staff about issues related to body-shaming, racism and “psychological warfare” against contestants and winners.

In response to the allegations Fleming said: “With any 100-year-old brand, there’s definitely going to be organisational missteps, to put it mildly.”

Its main competitor, Miss USA, was mired in its own scandal this summer after multiple title winners handed back their crowns over allegations of bullying.

Beauty pageants have faced challenges in recent years, including declining television ratings and financial struggles. It has led some to speculate that the pageant world as we know it may be coming to an end.