Miss America 2019 announces judges, including Carnie Wilson and Laila Ali

Updated Aug 31, 2:26 PM; Posted Aug 31, 11:00 AM

Laila Ali, at left, and Carnie Wilson will be among the celebrity judges at the 2019 Miss America pageant on Sept. 9 in Atlantic City. (Valerie Macon and Charley Gallay | Getty Images)

By Amy Kuperinsky akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Here they are -- the judges.

The 2019 Miss America competition, set for Sept. 9 in Atlantic City, will have talents from the worlds of music, sports, media, business and reality competition on hand as judges.

Beset by internal conflict, the Atlantic City-based Miss America Organization welcomed 51 contestants to Atlantic City on Thursday and announced seven celebrity judges.

"Dancing With the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who previously choreographed the pageant, will co-host Miss America this year alongside TV personality Ross Mathews, the former "Ross the Intern" from Jay Leno's "Tonight Show." ("Bachelor" host Chris Harrison and ESPN host Sage Steele were the immediate past hosts.) After another set of judges evaluate contestants in preliminary competition, the celebrity judges will name the winner of the pageant at Boardwalk Hall.

They are:

Laila Ali: The former professional boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali is a fitness expert, TV host and founder of the Laila Ali Lifestyle Brand.
Bobby Bones: The host of radio's "The Bobby Bones Show," the No. 1 country morning show.
Randy Jackson: The Grammy-winning musician, producer and music executive formerly served as an "American Idol" judge for 13 seasons.
Jessie James Decker: A country music star and TV personality starring in the reality show "Eric and Jessie."

Soledad O'Brien: The TV journalist anchors and produces "Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien" for Hearst Television, is founder of Starfish Media Group and is a correspondent for HBO's "Real Sports" and PBS NewsHour.
Alli Webb: Founder of Drybar, the blowout bar chain, and host of the podcast "Raising the Bar."
Carnie Wilson: The singer, songwriter, actress and talk show host is the daughter of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson. As part of Wilson Phillips, she had three No. 1 singles including "Hold On." She co-owns the dessert company Love Bites By Carnie.
The 2019 Miss America pageant airs at 9 pm. Sept. 9 on ABC.

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/08/miss_america_2019_judges_include_carnie_wilson_lai.html