Miss America Cara Mund: I’ve Been Bullied by Gretchen Carlson

Reigning Miss America Cara Mund penned an open letter claiming that she has been “bullied, manipulated and silenced” by Miss America Organization Chairwoman Gretchen Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper, the Associated Press reports. “Our chair and CEO have systematically silenced me, reduced me, marginalized me, and essentially erased me in my role as Miss America in subtle and not-so-subtle ways on a daily basis,” she wrote in a letter to former Miss America winners. “After a while, the patterns have clearly emerged, and the sheer accumulation of the disrespect, passive-aggressive behavior, belittlement, and outright exclusion has taken a serious toll.” Mund said she has been left out of TV interviews, not looped in on meetings, ridiculed for her clothing choices, and “called the wrong name” at times. She also alleged that she was given three talking points to bring up at events: “Miss America is relevant. The #MeToo movement started with a Miss America, Gretchen Carlson. Gretchen Carlson went to Stanford.” “There will be only one Miss America at a time, and she isn’t me,” Mund wrote. This comes as Carlson, a former Fox News host who has emerged as a #MeToo figure, canceled the swimsuit contest portion of the pageant.