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It’s a party in the USA!
After all, Miss Utah was crowned the winner of the 2023 Miss USA competition at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno on Sept. 29. Miss Hawaii was awarded runner-up, while Miss Wisconsin came in third place.
Miss Utah Noelia Voigt celebrated her Venezuelan-American identity during the question portion of the show.
In July, she shared on Instagram, “I am honored to be the first Venezuelan-American woman to hold the title of Miss Utah USA, and I am truly looking forward to breaking barriers and bridging the gap between communities by being able to speak Spanish and connect with the large Hispanic population in Utah.”
The new Miss USA succeeds Morgan Romano of North Carolina, who took over the title in January after last year’s pageant winner R’Bonney Gabriel was named Miss Universe 2022.
This year’s event is the first held under the leadership of fashion designer Laylah Rose, who became the Miss USA Organization’s president last month after Crystle Stewart stepped down from the role following allegations of rigging the 2022 pageant in favor of R’Bonney. (Crystle has denied the accusations, while R’Bonney previously told E! News that the competition was “not rigged.”)
“After a thorough and extensive investigation, it was found that accusations of rigging of the 2022 Miss USA Pageant were false,” a spokesperson for The Miss Universe Organization, which oversees Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, said in an Aug. 1 press release. “However, after much discussion and consideration, MUO and Crystle were unable to reach an agreement as to Crystle and Miss Brand’s continuing involvement with Miss USA and the Miss Universe Organization.”
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