Miss USA Drama: From Swimsuit Swipes to CEO Musical Chairs
KEY POINTS
- â˘Miss USA began in 1952 after swimwear sponsor Catalina split from Miss America over swimsuit photo disputes.
- â˘Donald Trump owned Miss Universe Organization from 1996 to 2015, selling after NBC dropped it over his immigrant remarks.
- â˘In 2025, Thom Brodeur took over as Miss USA CEO amid recent rigging accusations and leadership shakeups.
Miss USA's glitzy chaos began in 1952 thanks to a swimsuit company so obsessed with bikinis it defected Miss America. Since smoldering spotlight turns have included Miss USA queen Audrey Eckert vying for 2026 crown in Miami, velvet ropes guarded backstage by new CEO Thom Brodeur (appointed September 2025, fresh off a pageant soap opera). The saga involves former owner Donald Trump selling out after immigrant insult fallout, Miss USA presidents swapped faster than evening gowns, and rigging accusations that made Lady Justice reconsider her heels. Only since 2023 can mothers, married women, tatooed, or surgically tweaked contestants strut freelyâbecause heaven forbid beauty exclude life experience. Texas still owns most crowns like itâs a beauty pageant monopoly, while 18 states including Florida remain the awkward wallflowers of the pageant gym class.
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(1 of 3)Miss USA: A saga where swimsuits birth empires, CEOs play hot potato, and contestants come with tattoos, kids, and reality TV-worthy scandals. Beautyâs just masking a bureaucratic pageant stew nobody thought needed stirring â yet here we are.
If Miss USAâs ownership timeline was a Netflix series, itâd be called 'From Trump to Scandal: The Pageant Shuffle'.
Allowing married women and moms in 2023 is the only modern makeover Miss USA gave that wasnât just a spray tan.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 8/24/2026 | Author: Anneta Konstantinides
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