ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The official arrival of the 51 hopeful opponents competing for the Miss America title kicked off Thursday without directly reporting the recent public tensions between the reigning titleholder and the election leadership.
President Gretchen Carlson broke into Twitter with reigning Miss America Cara Mund after Mund said she had been "silenced" by overseers trying to control what she said in public. Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper have also come under fire because of their decision to stop the swimsuit race. Many government officials have asked Carlson and Hopper to resign.
Mund and Carlson sat several chairs together during the ceremony of the Thursday introduction on the promenade, but seemed to have no interaction. During her remarks, Mund said she was confident that everyone who wins this year's competition will be 100 percent ready and supported throughout her year & # 39 ;.
Then she mainly referred questions about her letter of August 17 with criticism of the leadership of the election and said: "It is about women competing and we are here to celebrate their achievements."
Asked about the letter, Mund said: "I think my letter tells me, I am a product of this organization and I am very grateful for it, I will be able to go to the Law School because of the scholarship that I have earned from this organization. . "
Carlson and Hopper refused to answer questions after the ceremony.
On Thursday, a lawyer representing Mund said that the Miss America Organization had told him that he was conducting an internal investigation into Mund's accusations that, in his words, "bullying and a corrosive working environment & # 39; included. In a letter to the lawyers of the organization, lawyer Roger Haber insisted that the results should be made public.
The Miss America Organization said in a letter from its lawyer to Haber Thursday that the survey by Employment Practices Solutions, a human resources consulting firm, "will be a quick and thorough assessment of Mundal Mund's allegations."
The next Miss America is crowned in Boardwalk Hall in a broadcast on television on 9 September.
Carlson and Hopper took over earlier this year after earlier officials of the election revealed that they had distributed e-mails that denied the appearance, intellect and sex life of the former Miss Americas.
Mund said in a letter to former Miss Americas on August 17 that she had been left out of interviews and had not been invited to meetings, and that she had held a televised farewell speech until 30 seconds after she indirectly hinted at issues with showcasters in a interview with the newspaper.
Carlson commented on Twitter that Mund's actions had cost $ 75,000 in new trade fairs and that they "already saw a negative wave effect across the organization."
The Miss America Organization told The Associated Press this month that it hopes to raise at least as much this year in trade fairs as last year, about $ 500,000.
The officials of Pageant also announced on Thursday that music producer and television supplier Randy Jackson and news anchor Soledad O & # 39; Brien will be one of the celebrity judges of this year. Joining them will be former boxer and author Laila Ali; on-air personality and author Bobby Bones; country music star Jessie James Decker; founder of Dry Bar Alli Webb; and singer / songwriter Carnie Wilson.
David Porter, The Associated Press
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