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18/07/2018
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Miss Wisconsin 2018: Tianna Vanderhei crowned
Miss Wood Violet Tianna Vanderhei wins the Miss Wisconsin title during the scholarship pageant held at the Alberta Kimball Auditorium on June 16, 2018. Jeannette Merten/For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
MANITOWOC – If Manitowoc native and 2016 Miss Wisconsin Courtney Pelot had her way, those competing in September’s Miss America pageant would still strut across the stage in bikinis.
But after nearly 100 years, the swimsuit portion of the competition will end and will be replaced with a “live interactive session with the judges” where a competitor will “highlight her achievements and goals in life.”
The Miss American Organization, now under mostly female leadership, announced the change in early June, and it will start with the September Miss America contest. The changes will impact state and regional competitions as well.
Pelot, however, said she had no problem posing in a swimsuit as part of the competition.
“It taught me how to eat healthy,” she said. “How to take care of my body and work on fitness. I thought is was something that should be kept. I couldn’t see a reason for taking it out.”
Still, the competition has evolved from the women wearing modest one-piece suits years ago to contestants wearing tiny bikinis and high heels in the name of earning scholarship dollars.
Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor who is now the chairwoman of the Miss America Pageant, said in an interview that she’s "talked to tons of young people who’ve said to me, ‘I’d love to be a part of that program, but I don’t want to parade around in a swimsuit.’”
Miss Green Bay Area Courtney Pelot reacts to winning the title of Miss Wisconsin 2016 after the Miss Wisconsin Scholarship Pageant Saturday, June 25, 2016, at the Alberta Kimball Auditorium in Oshkosh. (June 25, 2016) Nathaniel Shuda / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
In light of today’s #MeToo movement, Carlson said the organization has been working on the change for a few months. Nine board members approved the change in March, but it was kept secret until June, when state directors and former Miss Americas were informed. Carlson has frequently spoken publicly about women’s rights in the workplace after she filed a harassment lawsuit in 2016 against the former Fox chairman Roger Ailes. The Miss America competition, she said, will focus less on looks and more on the contestants’ talents, intelligence and ideas.
Pelot thinks the changes could have been better handled. She spoke with Megan Alexander for Inside Edition about the competition changes and her concerns with the current Miss American Organization leadership.
“I think the biggest issue is transparency,” she told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. “I think they should have reached out to state directors earlier about changes and what could be expected. Everything is pretty fuzzy right now.”
She doesn’t think the competition can be umbrellaed with #MeToo.
Miss Green Bay Area Courtney Pelot competes in the lifestyle and fitness portion of the Miss Wisconsin scholarship pageant on June 23. (Photo: Jeannette Merten/for USA TODAY NETWORK-WISCONSIN)
“We knew what we were getting into,” Pelot said. “We were never forced to do something we didn’t want to.”
The swimsuit portion of the competition is historical, she noted, and was a big part of the contest’s launch on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. Still, other traditions will continue, Pelot said.
“I think the girls will make up for it,” she said. Pelot expects contestants this year will enjoy and learn from their two weeks in Atlantic City. She gave a shout out to Miss Wisconsin 2018/former Miss Harbor Cities 2016, Tianna Vanderhei, who heads to Atlantic City in a few weeks.
“I know she will shine on that stage,” Pelot said. “Fun fact: she won the state pageant on her sixth try. That girl fights for her dreams.”
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