Dick Clark Productions says it has cut ties with the Miss America Organization over internal emails by pageant senior leadership that ridiculed past winners’ appearance, intelligence and sex lives.
The Huffington Post reported Thursday that the Miss America Organization’s CEO, Sam Haskell, regularly exchanged expletive-laden emails in which he or others slut-shamed and name-called young women.
In the emails Haskell frequently used shocking and sexually-charged terms to refer to contestants, including 2013 winner Mallory Hagan and Gretchen Carlson, the ex-Fox News anchor who won the pageant in 1989.
The 62-year-old executive’s harshly worded correspondences at times took on the entire pageant community.
In an August 2014 email to a prominent Miss America telecast writer, Haskell said that he wanted to stop calling former contestants ‘Forever Miss Americas’ and instead refer to them as ‘Former Miss Americas.’
‘I’d already changed “Forevers!” to “Cunts”. Does that work for you?’ the writer, Lewis Friedman, responded.Haskell replied: ‘Perfect…bahahaha.’
The comments are in stark contrast to the glowing, supportive statements Haskell repeatedly made in public about past title winners.
Haskell told the AP he would respond on Friday; the Miss America Organization says he has apologized to the board.
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