After a chaotic year full of headlines and controversy, big changes are coming to Miss USA.
The Miss Universe organization has announced that Crystle Stewart will no longer serve as president of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, a position she has held since November 2020.
The Miss Universe Organization said information on the new national director for Miss USA, and more information on this year's pageant, will be released shortly. A representative for Stewart did not immediately respond to Insider's request for further comment.
Stewart was suspended from her position in October after more than a dozen Miss USA 2022 contestants claimed that she and her company, Miss Brand, had rigged the pageant in favor of Miss Texas R'Bonney Gabriel, who took home the crown and went on to win Miss Universe in January.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Miss Universe Organization said a "thorough and extensive investigation" had found that the rigging allegations "were false."
"Sincere gratitude to Crystle and the entire Miss Brand staff and employees for their unwavering cooperation and transparency throughout the entire investigation," the statement read. "Their willingness to provide full assistance and support during that challenging time is a testament to their professionalism and integrity."
But, the statement continued, the Miss Universe Organization and Stewart "were unable to reach an agreement as to Crystle and Miss Brand's continuing involvement with Miss USA and the Miss Universe Organization."
"Crystle has decided to leverage the success she has had with the Miss USA Organization to pursue other entrepreneurial passions," the statement read. "We wish Crystle, and her team at Miss Brand, all the best and have no doubt that she will excel in this next chapter."
Stewart and the Miss Universe Organization became consumed in controversy after Gabriel was crowned Miss USA 2022 on October 3. Insider spoke to many of the competing contestants, who pointed to multiple conflicts of interest between Gabriel and Miss USA's national sponsors — including Miss Academy, the pageant school owned by Stewart.
"A lot of the girls felt like it was the organization's plan from the beginning for R'Bonney to win, no matter who else was competing," Miss Missouri, Mikala McGhee, told Insider at the time.
Contestants also told Insider they received no mental health support during the competition, which occurred just months after Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst died by suicide.
As the rigging allegations became headline news, it was also revealed that Stewart's husband, Max Sebrechts, had stepped down as vice president of Miss USA after multiple contestants from the 2021 pageant said he had sexually harassed them during the competition.
In a statement sent to Insider in October, a spokesperson for Miss Universe said the organization was made aware of the allegations against Sebrechts in late December 2021 and "immediately requested a review."
"The Miss USA franchisee, Miss Brand, removed the employee from its organization in January 2022 and new protocols and processes were established and put in place," they added.
When Stewart bought the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA licenses in November 2020, she promised to usher in a new era called "Pageantry Reimagined."
Many pageant fans were excited that Stewart — the first Black woman to run Miss USA — was taking the helm. She was a former Miss USA herself, winning the crown in 2008 while representing Texas, and a former director of the Miss Houston pageant. Stewart told fans in a letter posted on the pageant's website that she wanted to make pageants relevant again after years of flagging ratings and interest.
"At the mention of pageants, what comes to mind for most people is a stereotypically slim woman, with big hair and superb polish, but this is not enough for the image of the future," she wrote. "Our mission in reimagining pageantry is to catapult our competitions into the mainstream audience by showing people the confidence and power that pageantry can give to young women."
