The company behind the Miss America pageant has filed for bankruptcy after two top leaders within the organization feuded over who is the rightful owner of the 103-year-old beauty pageant.
Robin Fleming, who became president and CEO of Miss America Competition LLC last year, and real estate developer Glenn Straub both filed documents with the court earlier this year claiming sole ownership.
On Friday, Straub sent a Chapter 11 filing to the US Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, arguing the company owes creditors $4 million. Bloomberg reported.
Fleming filed a complaint with the court on Monday saying the exact opposite. According to her, the company is not in serious financial trouble and this is a “bad faith” attempt by Straub to wrest control of the election.
Fleming asked the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that Straub does not actually own the company, which would make it impossible for him to file for bankruptcy. The Wall Street Journal reported.
In addition, Fleming accused Straub of deliberately sabotaging the upcoming 2025 Miss America competition, which was set to start on January 1.
“In approximately four weeks, thousands of people will descend on Orlando, bringing hopeful young ladies and their families from across the country, to fulfill the opportunity of a lifetime to compete for the title of ‘Miss America,’ a title recognized everywhere. America and beyond, for more than 100 years,” Fleming’s motion to the court said.
“The bad faith bankruptcy filing for MAC, orchestrated by Straub, is solely intended to prevent the 2025 Miss America competition from proceeding and succeeding.”
The ownership dispute over Miss America flares up between Robin Fleming, left, and Glenn Straub. Both parties have filed a complaint in bankruptcy court
Miss Colorado Madison Marsh will be crowned the new Miss America 2024 on January 14, 2024 in Orlando, Florida
Straub argued that it was Fleming who caused this dispute by failing to report financial information and refusing to relinquish operational control of the company.
A state court judge in Florida ordered Fleming in October to give Straub access to the company’s financials and other key documents.
Fleming has said she purchased Miss America’s assets through various legal entities in December 2022.
It appears the election itself will be safe regardless, as the court has said it can go ahead as planned while the legal battle plays out.
Straub also wrote a letter to Miss America board members and volunteers on Tuesday promising that the pageant will still take place even if he has to fund it himself, the Journal reported.
As part of a separate lawsuit, he alleged last week that Fleming is embezzling Miss America’s assets to pay her legal fees.
Robin Fleming, who became president and CEO of Miss America Competition LLC last year, and real estate developer Glenn Straub both filed documents claiming sole ownership (photo: Miss New York Nia Franklin, center, reacts after being named Miss America 2019)
Straub also said he tried to fire Fleming, but she refused to leave.
“This reckless practice puts Miss America in financial and legal jeopardy and I will not allow it to undo everything you and I have worked so hard for,” Straub wrote in his letter.
“They have forced me to take this legally correct step to ensure the long-term survival of the organization.”
As of May, the Miss America board was on Fleming’s side. They voted unanimously to transfer the company’s assets to her.
Judge Erik P. Kimball will preside over the case and may ultimately decide who the rightful owner of the company is.
The Miss America pageant began in 1921 and was originally a beauty pageant that took place on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Over the decades it expanded so that every U.S. state and the District of Columbia held their own local parades. The winner of those competitions is then sent to the national competition.
Student Brían Nguyen, 19, poses with other local Miss America contestants after her historic win. The aspiring model is the first transgender woman to win a local title
Over the past decade, the Miss America pageant has faced a steady decline in viewership.
In an effort to make the event more inclusive and empowering, the predominantly female leadership canceled the swimsuit competition in 2018.
Gretchen Carlson, former Fox News host and 1989 Miss America winner, was instrumental in making this happen after she became a board member. She resigned from her position in 2019.
Miss America is also becoming more accepting of transgender people, with the first transgender woman ever winning a local title in November 2022.
Brían Nguyen, then 19 years old, won the title of Miss Greater Derry in New Hampshire, sparking outrage among critics who accused the competition of being woke.