THROUGHOUT its 100-year history the Miss America pageant has had its fair share of scandals, from mystery disappearances to fat-shaming emails and suicide attempts. The first Miss America pageant took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1921, and the event, as well as other pageants, have gone through several shakeups over the years.
GettyBette Cooper vanished on the day of her first official appearance as a winner '/ ' A VANISHING MISS AMERICA One of the earliest scandals involved Bette Cooper, the 1937 winner. According to Margot Mifflin, who wrote a book about the pageants, Cooper never really wanted to enter the contest — and after she won it, she failed to show up for her first official appearance. Apparently, she had struck up a romance with her assigned chauffeur for the week and he helped her sneak away to avoid her official pageant duties. Her disappearance resulted in some odd photos, with an empty Miss America thrown flanked by the runners up waving next to it. After Cooper was forced to make an apology, she disappeared again and never had anything more to do with the pageant. Most read in News UNDER FIRE What to know about Judge Michelle Odinet 'SHOPPING CART KILLER' 'Serial killer' who moves bodies in Target cart is probed as 4 slain IN COLD BLOOD Mexican actress shot dead while waiting to pick up her son, 11, from football TIKTOK THREAT Warning over challenge that urges kids to bring WEAPONS to school tomorrow CASHFLOW Five stimulus check payment programs to replace the monthly $300 child tax credit WE WANT JUSTICE Grieving dad of model's friend wants three suspects hit with MURDER charges FAT-SHAMING/MISOGYNISTIC EMAILS In 2017, it was revealed that the pageant's CEO Sam Haskell had a history of making cruel and often misogynistic comments about contestants in emails. The shocking emails were published in 2017 by HuffPost. Miss American 2013, Mallory Hagan, was a frequent target of Haskell's mockery, with him commenting on her weight and speculating about her sex life. 
GettySam Haskell stepped down after his emails were leaked '/ ' 
GettyMallory Hagan was often a target of the sexist remarks '/ ' A WINNER'S DE-CROWING AND LATER SUICIDE ATTEMPT The winner of the 1957 MISS USA pageant, Mary Leona Gage, had her crown taken after it came to light that she lied about several things, including being married, having kids, and her age, while competing. She said she was 21 when competing, though officials later found out that she was just 18 years old and had two children, which was against pageant rules. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun decades later, Gage revealed that she had gotten married at age 14 and had started competing in pageants to deal with the ...oppression... of her marriage. After being stripped of her titles, she told the outlet she attempted suicide multiple times, developed a drug addiction, and later, lost custody of her kids. Gage passed away in 2010. 
GettyGage lost her crown after it was revealed that she lied during the competition '/ ' VANESSA WILLIAMS' DE-CROWING Actress Vanessa Williams was the first black woman to be crowned Miss America in 1984. However, she had to give back her crown after Penthouse magazine published nude photos of Williams that had been taken years earlier when she worked as a photographer's assistant. It took 32 years for the pageant to issue an official apology to Williams in 2016. 
GettyActress Vanessa Williams was once stripped of her Miss America crown '/ ' DITCHING THE SWIMSUITS After Haskell left as Miss American CEO, a former winner, Gretchen Carlson \- Miss America 1989 \- gave the competition a rebrand that involved getting rid of the famous swimsuit competition. The move led to much infighting in the organization. Mifflin explained in her book, ... 'The swimsuit change ' really divided people. ...One group wanted to preserve tradition. But some contestants told me how utterly mortifying 'wearing a bathing suit on stage ' was.... Source:
