The Miss Teen USA, Uma Sofias, has resigned from her title days after Miss USA relinquished her crown.
Uma attributed her resignation to the fact that the direction of the organization no longer aligns with her personal values.
In an Instagram post shared on Wednesday, May 8, the Teen queen wrote: “After months of grappling with this decision, I have made the choice to resign from the title of Miss Teen USA 2023. I am grateful for all the support from my family, my state directors, my sister queens, and the fans who have cheered me on since I won my state title. I will always look back on my time as Miss NJ Teen USA fondly, and the experience of representing my state as a first generation, Mexican-Indian American at the national level fulfilling in itself.
“After careful consideration, I’ve decided to resign as I find that my personal values no longer fully aligned with the direction of the organisation. However, I will continue my relentless advocacy for education and acceptance with my multilingual children’s book The White Jaguar and with the organization that I have had the privilege to work with long before I started competing, namely The Lotus Petal Foundation and the Bridge of Books Foundation. Ultimately, working with this incredible non-profit and seeing the first-hand impact that The White Jaguar has had on the kids and adults who have read it is what has forged my legacy. This work has always been my TRUE purpose. I look forward to the rest of the year as I finish 11th grade as part of the National Honour Society and start the college application process, knowing that my academic career has been defined by my hard work and my hard work alone.
“I am also looking forward to pursuing a new writing project that becomes available to subscribers of That’s Fan Behaviour. Most importantly, thank you to those who support me for who I am and have always been, not for who I’ve momentarily become. It has been a privilege.
