AceShowbiz - Miss America 2018 Cara Mund slams the pageant less than a month before the Miss America 2019 pageant. The pageant winner from North Dakota accuses the Miss American Organization officials, including CEO Regina Hopper and chairwoman Gretchen Carlson, of bullying and silencing her since she won the contest.

In a five-page letter addressed to "Miss America Sisters", Mund says, "Let me be blunt: I strongly believe that my voice is not heard nor wanted by our current leadership; nor do they have any interest in knowing who I am and how my experiences relate to positioning the organization for the future."

"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 claims. "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 says she has been left out of interviews and meetings, being told she was "not important enough" to do those interviews. She was told that it was her fault sponsors dropped the Miss America Organization. She was also allegedly ridiculed for her clothing choices and got scolded for wearing the same outfits too often.

Mund says she was forced to stick to specific talking points and that group leaders called her by the wrong name. When she reached out to former Miss Americas to see if they had been treated similarly, she "was reprimanded by Regina," who allegedly told her "that problems and concerns had to be kept 'in the family.' "

Responding to Mund's claims, the Miss America Organization says in a statement released on Friday afternoon, August 17, "It is disappointing that she chose to air her grievances publicly not privately. Her letter contains mischaracterizations and many unfounded accusations. We are reaching out to her privately to address her concern. The Miss America Organization supports Cara."

Ironically, the accusations come after Miss America announced in June that it scrapped its swimsuit portion from its annual competition in the name of female empowerment.