Introducing: Curse of Miss America

0:05 For more than a century, Miss America sold the country a fantasy, and we loved it. Miss America herself was a celebrity. She was the image of an ideal woman. And behind her, an organization that promoted women's empowerment. When I was a kid, I watched Miss America every year. The pageant was primetime TV, as big as the Super Bowl.

0:34 There was a time when Miss America got 80 million viewers, and they have all these advertisers, all these sponsors. And being Miss America brought fame and opportunity. I made a lot of money for a 21-year-old girl.

0:46 It was nice.

0:47 That was a real prize. But over the past decade, the crown's been slipping. They said goodbye to swimsuits, now hello to lawsuits. Leaked emails. Writing, quote, OMG, she is huge and gross. Other exchanges are too vulgar to broadcast.

1:01 After she says she was controlled, manipulated, and bullied by the new Miss America leadership. When I took on this project, I thought I'd be talking about crowns and gowns. But what I uncovered was something much darker. Today, the Miss America organization is at the center of an extraordinary battle.

1:19 Two people are claiming to be the rightful owner, and it's getting ugly. How could that vicious woman, how did she turn this around?

1:30 I'm Bridget Armstrong.

1:31 Last season, we took you into the world of America's Next Top Model, a show that defined a generation. I'm back with Curse of Season 2, all about the rise, fall, and uncertain future of an American institution. the Miss America pageant. We'll hear directly from former Miss America winners, participants, and whistleblowers.

1:52 I never received scholarship money to pay for my student loans. He looks at me and goes, you don't look like you suffered an eating disorder. She's great, but looks too ethnic.

2:04 Even with insiders sounding the alarm, thousands of young women continue to dedicate their life to the pageant.

2:11 Now, they're standing on the sidelines, watching it implode. I actually did very much enjoy it. And it just seems like so much has clouded that enjoyment.

2:24 I don't want to bring any harm to Miss America because of the sisterhood of it all.

2:27 You don't want to damage. But there was also this grave injustice. And so it's so disappointing.

2:34 This is a story the Miss America organization really doesn't want us to tell. And we know that because they've tried their best to interfere with our productions. An exploitation of our Miss Americas is treated by the Miss America organization as an attack on Miss America itself. It's a story of how the crown became a curse. An investigation into the legal battle playing out in real time. And maybe a final reckoning for Miss America.

3:05 It's all just a game. It's all just a joke. What is the value of these women? Maybe this is the meta question for the podcast. What is Miss America at this point?

3:19 Listen to The Curse of Miss America on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.