Savannah Gankiewicz presented herself with the title of Miss USA 2023 on Thursday, while also expressing her admiration for Noelia Voigt’s choice to stand down from her position.
America’s Miss Hawaii Due to the fact that Noelia Voigt resigned earlier this week, Savannah Gankiewicz has been selected as the winner of the Miss USA 2023 competition.
“I fully support and respect Noelia’s decision to step down, and I stand in solidarity with mental health awareness,” Gankiewicz, who is 28 years old, said in a statement that was uploaded to the website of Miss USA on Thursday. “I accept the crown with the knowledge that during this journey, I have been supported and encouraged by several individuals, including my family, friends, and the people of Hawaii. It is on their behalf that I accept this designation…”
Gankiewicz sent a more in-depth letter on her own Instagram account, in which she discussed her choice to accept the crown and expressed her support for Voigt, who announced on Monday that she would be resigning from her position in order to put her mental health first.
“Please know that my decision to accept the Miss USA crown was not one that was made lightly,” Gankiewicz said in her letter. Gankiewicz will be crowned Miss USA on Wednesday, May 15. I congratulate Noelia on her courageous decision to step down and put her mental health first. I stand in solidarity with her. It was a privilege of a lifetime to be able to share the stage with you at your crowning moment, Noelia, and I wish you the best of luck in the next chapter of your life.
“With the little time I have as Miss USA, it is my intention to bring attention and focus onto the rebuilding of Lahaina on my island of Maui,” she said in her statement. “I also look forward to helping the 2024 delegates transition into a new era of Miss USA.”
As a result of Voigt’s announcement, as well as UmaSofia Srivastava’s resignation as Miss Teen USA 2023 a few days later, dozens of her fellow 2023 Miss USA competitors joined forces and issued a joint statement on social media. In the statement, they declared that they supported her decision to resign and demanded that the Miss USA organization release her from any nondisclosure agreement that might be preventing her from sharing more of her story.
The tweet was not shared by Gankiewicz, but ET was able to speak with one queen who did share it: Josie Nicole Stephens, who will be the Miss Nevada 2023.
In her explanation of the message that she and her other contestants wished to convey with their postings, Stephens said, “I believe that the most important thing is transparency — transparency on both sides.” “I am interested in receiving a response from the organization. I am interested in hearing their narrative, and I would also want to consider giving Noelia and UmaSofia the opportunity to share their experience.
“We need full transparency, especially for the women who are to come after us,” she proceeded to emphasize. “They need to know what exactly they’re putting themselves, the situation that they’re putting themselves into.”