text: Donald Kravitz via Getty Images Sam Haskell has helped Miss America regain prominence after the institution struggled for several years. But emails tell a different story about his thoughts on the women competing in his pageants. 
   
   In late August 2014, the CEO of the Miss America Organization, Sam Haskell, sent an email to the lead writer of the Miss America pageant telecast, Lewis Friedman, informing him of a change he wanted to make in the script: “I have decided that when referring to a woman who was once Miss America, we are no longer going to call them Forever Miss Americas....please change all script copy to reflect that they are Former Miss Americas!” 
   
   Friedman replied, “I’d already changed “Forevers” to “Cunts.” Does that work for you?” 
   
   Haskell’s short reply came quickly: “Perfect...bahahaha.” 
   
   Supplied 
   
   At that point, Haskell had been the leader of Miss America for nine years, after rising through the ranks at a top Hollywood talent agency. Many prior winners, or as they’re called, “formers,” consider the pageant a wonderful, wholesome activity for young women. But Haskell’s behavior behind closed doors shows he regularly maligned, fat-shamed and slut-shamed the former Miss Americas, calling them shocking names and in one case laughing at the suggestion that one of the women should die. 
   
   When it came to one particular former, Haskell took his efforts so far that she lost her pageant coaching business. 
   
   Getty Images Miss America Organization board members Tammy Haddad, left, and Lynn Weidner. 
   
   Two Miss America board members served as a virtual rubber stamp for Haskell’s behavior: Tammy Haddad, a media consultant and D.C. power connector; and Lynn Weidner, a Las Vegas socialite. And though Friedman was never a board member, he regularly sent offensive and sexist messages to Haskell, which Haskell often responded to by indicating he thought Friedman was funny or endorsed what Friedman was saying. 
   
   For this story, HuffPost reviewed nearly three years of internal emails provided by two sources. They reveal a CEO who regularly wrote and responded to unprofessional, offensive emails about the women who poured their hearts into the pageants and the organization he was leading. 
   
   (Update: The board suspended Haskell on Friday, hours after an open letter from 49 former Miss Americas called for top-level resignations, adding, “The Board will be conducting an in-depth investigation into alleged inappropriate communications and the nature in which they were obtained. In addition, the Board wishes to reaffirm our commitment to the education and empowerment of young women, supporting them in every way possible.”) 
   
   Improving A Struggling American Institution 
   
   Sam Haskell joined Miss America’s board in 2005 after retiring from the William Morris Agency (now called WME), where he was the worldwide head of television. 
   
   Most everyone agrees that to a certain extent, Haskell helped the organization get back on its feet. Miss America has returned to broadcast television, airing on ABC after being relegated to basic cable. It has also come back to its original home of Atlantic City, New Jersey, from Las Vegas, where the pageant took place in a smaller venue. In 2014, the Miss America Organization and Dick Clark Productions announced a one-year deal (later extended to three years) for the storied entertainment company to produce and cover the cost of the annual pageant telecast, in addition to paying a fee to the Miss America Organization for the rights to produce the telecast. As part of the deal, Dick Clark Productions received two seats on the Miss America Organization board. 
   
   Over the past 12 years, Haskell has gone from a board member to a well-compensated CEO. He makes $500,000 a year, which has been a source of internal and external controversy. 
   
   But despite his success at growing the pageant, internal emails show a different story. 
   
   Michael Loccisano via Getty Images Sam Haskell applauds at the 2018 Miss America event in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 
   
   In some cases, Haskell was professional. In an August 2013 email exchange, one month before Mallory Hagan, 2013’s winner, would crown the new Miss America in Atlantic City, Haskell exchanged emails with his daughter and one of his top employees, Brent Adams, about Hagan. 
   
   His daughter, Mary Lane, said, “Here’s hoping you get another good one!” 
   
   Haskell replied to Mary Lane, “It’s going to be hard to replace Mallory, but I’m hopeful!” 
   
   But in other cases, Haskell and Haddad routinely maligned the former Miss Americas, calling them “malcontents” and treating them as embarrassing inconveniences rather than honored alumnae. 
   
   In May 2014, Haskell forwarded one of Haddad’s emails to a Miss America executive. In it, Haddad had referred to some former Miss Americas as a “pile of malcontents and has beens who blame the program for not getting them where they think they can go.” 
   
   She added, “80% of the winners do not have the class, smarts and model for success.” 
   
   She then encouraged Haskell to try to avoid getting riled up by the “formers,” saying, “YOU have to let them go. You don’t need them. They need you. We also have to punish them when they don’t appreciate what we do for them.” 
   
   In his forward, Haskell called the advice wise. 
   
   In response to email questions sent to Haskell and Haddad, HuffPost received a response from a Miss America Organization spokesman. He said Friedman had been let go from the organization after an investigation. 
   
   “The Miss America Organization Board of Directors was notified about the concern of inappropriate language in email communications several months ago. Consequently, the organization’s Board of Directors took the allegations of inappropriate comments very seriously and formed an investigative committee,” he wrote. “As a result of the investigation, the Board directed the organization terminate the relationship with most egregious author of inappropriate comments. In addition, the Board has started the process of instituting additional policies and procedures for communication.” 
   
   “The Board has full confidence in the Miss America Organization leadership team,” he added. 
   
   In a reply to an email with questions about his statements, Friedman said, “Before commenting to correct your information and provide context, I’ll speak to my attorney as this matter is the subject of pending litigation.” It is not clear what litigation he was referencing. 
   
   ‘It Should Have Been Kate Shindle’ 
   
   Donna Connor via Getty Images Kate Shindle winning in 1998. 
   
   Haskell sometimes focused on Kate Shindle, who was crowned in 1998. The former Miss Illinois is now a successful actor and singer, and serves as president of the Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing more than 51,000 American stage actors and stage managers. 
   
   In 2014, Shindle released a book in which she questioned the Miss America board’s decision to pay Haskell a $500,000 consulting fee, during a year the organization was over $400,000 in the red. (The board said the money was back-pay for Haskell.) 
   
   Shindle was not revealing new information; press accounts had already exposed the payment. In her book, she also alleged Haskell blacklisted those who dissented against his leadership, with the national organization calling state-level pageants and giving those groups names of people they could not associate with. 
   
   In December 2014, Friedman emailed Haskell to offer his condolences on the death of former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley, writing, “So sorry to hear about Mary Ann Mobley” 
   
   The subject line of Friedman’s email read: “It should have been Kate Shindle.” 
   
   Haskell replied, “Thanks so much Coach...even in my sadness you can make me laugh...how was the Kennedy Center Honors? Love you and appreciate you! Sam.” 
   
   Shindle declined to comment for this article. 
   
   ‘Drive Gretchen Insane’ 
   
   Astrid Stawiarz via Getty Images Gretchen Carlson was involved with Miss America for years. 
   
   Haskell and Haddad also appeared to dislike Gretchen Carlson, who won the Miss America title in 1989 and was on the organization’s board of directors for many years. The root cause of their disdain, according to three sources, was Carlson’s push to modernize the organization and her refusal to attack former Miss Americas. 
   
   Haskell told Carlson not to have Hagan on her program, according to three sources familiar with the conversation. Carlson refused. 
   
   On Aug. 15, 2014, Weidner sent an email to a group of former Miss Americas, including Carlson, about Shindle’s book, saying, “Is it possible for each of you to speak out in defense of Sam and the organization?” 
   
   Carlson replied, “It’s one thing to talk about your own personal experience as Miss America … but totally different to attack people individually.” 
   
   Haskell forwarded Carlson’s response to Haddad, who replied to Haskell, “Snake but now u have not doubts as to her loyalty. Makes it easy not to respond. Right?” 
   
   Just before Shindle’s book came out, Haddad emailed Haskell and said, “Why don’t u read susan POWELL’s [former Miss America] email on the board call and say it’s a shame that only one miss america who has come forward to offer help in any way.” Haddad was referring to an email Powell had written that was supportive of Haskell. 
   
   Haskell replied, “Brilliant…..fucking Brilliant!!!! That will drive Gretchen INFUCKINGSANE.” 
   
   After the email exchange, Haskell did not feature Carlson in the next Miss America broadcast ― an unusual decision given her prominence. 
   
   In a statement sent by email, Haddad said, “I have the highest regard and gratitude for Gretchen and her extraordinary leadership in fighting for women.” 
   
   Carlson later resigned from the Miss America board. Haskell and other board members were telling people Carlson couldn’t be trusted, which she felt was maligning her integrity, according to a source familiar with her thinking at the time. 
   
   Carlson responded to HuffPost on Thursday, “As a proud former Miss America and former member of the Board of the Miss America Organization, I am shocked and deeply saddened by the disgusting statements about women attributed to the leadership of the MAO. No woman should be demeaned with such vulgar slurs. As I’ve learned, harassment and shaming of women is never acceptable and should never be tolerated. Every MAO executive and board member who engaged in such crude behavior and signed off on it like it was no big deal should resign immediately. The Miss America Organization, which is tasked to uphold an almost 100 year old tradition of female empowerment and scholarship, deserves better. I hope all former Miss Americas, state and local titleholders and volunteers will join me in a collective effort to fight for the dignity of this great institution.” 
   
   In 2016, Carlson rocked the media world when she sued former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. Carlson’s suit led to Ailes being pushed out, and she later received a settlement. She has since focused on bringing attention to the epidemic of sexual harassment in the workplace and is working with members of Congress to approve legislation to protect women’s rights in the workplace. 
   
   Focused Attacks 
   
   Steve Marcus / Reuters Mallory Hagan wins the crown in 2013. 
   
   Haskell also appeared to have special disdain for Hagan. In January 2013, she was crowned Miss America at the pageant in Las Vegas. 
   
   But just three months later, she was publicly fat-shamed for a bikini photo that surfaced. Haskell said nothing publicly about the images at the time. Later, though, he did internally. 
   
   Splash News/Getty Images Hagan was publicly fat-shamed for the photo on the left. The right shows her while competing for Miss America. 
   
   As the reigning champion, Hagan spent time in Oxford, Mississippi, at Haskell and his wife’s home. It was there Hagan got to know Adams, whose official title was director of development at Haskell’s production company, which had a television deal with Warner Brothers. Adams essentially acted as a chief of staff, overseeing the various elements of Haskell’s business and personal life, including Miss America. 
   
   Adams and Hagan realized they had a connection after spending time together, but, fearful that professional entanglements could complicate a romantic relationship, the two decided if they were going to date it would be best to wait until Hagan’s reign was over. 
   
   Shortly after Hagan crowned the new Miss America in September 2013, she and Adams started dating. According to Adams, Haskell wanted Adams to date his daughter, not Hagan, and was open about this request. 
   
   Adams recalled an encounter with Haskell at his home in which Haskell attempted to convince Adams to break up with Hagan and instead date his daughter. Haskell stretched out his arms and told Adams, “All of this can be yours,” ostensibly referring to his Oxford mansion and the family’s money. 
   
   “You don’t need a piece of trash like Mallory. You need someone with class and money like my daughter,” he said, according to Adams. 
   
   When Adams was in New York with the Haskell family, Haskell accidentally sent a text message to a group chat that suggested his daughter try to hold Adams’ hand. Adams described the text in a phone interview. 
   
   Once, when Hagan made a payment for dinner to Adams via the peer-to-peer payment app Venmo (which shows payments between friends), Haskell confronted Adams about it, asking why he was still in touch with Hagan. 
   
   ‘Are We Four The Only Ones Not To Have Fucked Mallory?’ 
   
   In August 2014, Haskell received an email from someone he knew, who said Hagan’s hairdresser in New York had been commenting on Hagan’s sex life while Hagan was living in Los Angeles, as well as her recent weight gain. 
   
   Haskell forwarded the email to Friedman saying, “Not a single day passes that I am not told some horrible story about Mallory.” 
   
   Friedman replied, “Mallory’s preparing for her new career … as a blimp in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade As she continues to destroy her own credibility, her voice will attract less and less notice while she continues her descent to an unhappy pathetic footnote.” 
   
   Friedman ended the email with, “Ps. Are we four the only ones not to have fucked Mallory?” 
   
   Haskell replied and said, “It appears we are the only ones!” 
   
   He then wrote Hagan had slept with someone he knew, and he told the man’s mother “he needs to have a blood test because we lost count of the number of men she slept with at 25.” 
   
   A source close to Hagan says the accusations about her hairdresser and having sex with the man in question are not true. 
   
   Supplied 
   
   ′Why Does He Want That?′ 
   
   On Jan. 25, 2015, Weidner sent Haskell a photo of Hagan with three other former Miss Americas. Weidner did not comment on the photo in her email. 
   
   Haskell replied, saying, “OMG she is huge...and gross...why does he want that?????” Haskell did not name Adams specifically, but it appears he was discussing his employee, who was still dating Hagan at the time. 
   
   Haskell then forwarded the email to Josh Randle, who now serves as president of the Miss America Organization, and added, “Look at MH in this photo...OMG...Why does he want that?” 
   
   Randle said, “She’s a healthy one!! Hahaha.” 
   
   Haskill said, “Look at this photo from the Former Retreat!!! Shindle was there too and I was told she made everyone sign an NDA as she rolled out her plan of attack...evil lurks.” 
   
   Haddad said, “Mallory is barely recognizable” 
   
   Haskell said, “It is unreal.” 
   
   Haddad replied, and said, in part, “U think he left u for that? Don’t believe it. It makes NO sense.” 
   
   Haskell also forwarded the email to Friedman, who said, “My screen just cracked! What happened?” 
   
   Hagan declined to comment for this article. A Miss America Organization spokesman replied to questions sent to Randle with the same statement he gave for Haskell and Haddad. That statement said Friedman had been let go and the board was instituting new guidelines for internal communication. 
   
   Consequences For Hagan 
   
   Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images Hagan meets children at a school in 2015. 
   
   At the end of December 2015, emails suggest Haskell felt Hagan was personally maligning him. In an email to Haddad, Weidner and Randle, among others, Haskell asked for help, saying Hagan was “viciously and cruelly” attacking him and his family “every day.” 
   
   It’s unclear what Hagan was doing or saying at the time, but a comb of her social media posts doesn’t reveal anything egregious. She continued to be critical of Haskell’s leadership and the direction of the organization, but not in a way that would warrant what was suggested next by Haddad in response to Haskell’s urgent plea. 
   
   Haddad said, “Hi. I am so sorry. It is ridiculous but she is not going to stop. She has no control. I think u should hire an investigator to get something on her.” 
   
   (A source close to Haddad said she was not suggesting in the email that Haskell hire an investigator to dig up something of a personal nature on Hagan. Rather, her intention was to suggest Haskell hire an investigator to see if Hagan had been posting messages anonymously on internal Miss America message boards.) 
   
   Haskell said, “Thoughts on Tammy’s note below? Threatening her won’t work and we already have ‘enough info on her’ to shut down Ft. Knox.....ugh. I really think the best way is to shut down her social media, and convince the Formers to ostracize her” 
   
   Weidner said, “I wish I had an easy answer to this dilemma. If we can prove a direct connection between MH and specific instances of cyber bullying, we could at least threaten her with a lawsuit right? I do believe that our anti coaching initiatives are already impacting her business. And that our policy of ignoring her is driving her crazy!” 
   
   I do believe that our anti coaching initiatives are already impacting her business. an email from Lynn Weidner about Mallory Hagan's pageant coaching business 
   
   “I pray none of you ever experience anything like this....It is finally clear that I am on my own,” Haskell replied. 
   
   In response to list of questions sent via email, specifically if it was appropriate for nonprofit resources to be used to investigate former Miss Americas, Haddad said in an email, “This was a terrible, highly divisive time in the Miss America Organization, fueled by inflammatory character attacks. I along with the Board worked to stop the damage that was being inflicted on the organization and members of its community.” 
   
   In a statement, Weidner called Haskell “one of the most outstanding individuals I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.” 
   
   “Sam had led us to becoming a nationally recognized and positive force for the education and the empowerment of young women,” she wrote. “The fact that he would be so ruthlessly attacked by a handful of disgruntled malcontents is disgraceful. I am very proud of the way he has kept above the fray and always conducted himself in a way that does honor to this program.” 
   
   Opportunities Lost 
   
   Ethan Miller via Getty Images Women compete during the swimsuit portion of the 2007 Miss America pageant. 
   
   After winning the pageant, Hagan signed with a WME agent in Los Angeles, Lee White, whom Haskell introduced her to. 
   
   But within months, a source close to Hagan says White started to withdraw and decline requests to meet with her. 
   
   In one email from White to Haskell described verbally by a source, White suggests he shouldn’t have drinks with Hagan based on something Haskell told him. Haskell replies, saying White made the right judgment. 
   
   A few months later, Hagan dropped White as her agent. She moved back to New York and joined a friend training contestants for the all-important interview portion of the pageant. 
   
   But within months, the national Miss America Organization told contestants they couldn’t have coaches ― specifically, interview coaches. The national organization also said that anyone wanting to use a coach would have to seek approval from the executive director of their local organization. 
   
   The national organization had an informal list of coaches contestants couldn’t use, which contestants found out about through their local and state pageant directors. Hagan was on the list. 
   
   Soon after, Hagan’s lucrative coaching business fell apart. 
   
   In August 2016, Hagan moved back home to Alabama, where she had to rebuild her career. Today, she is the evening anchor of a small NBC affiliate in Columbus, Georgia. 
   
   Cease And Desist 
   
   In August 2017, Adams and a former Miss America board member, Regina Hopper, flew to Los Angeles to talk to Dick Clark Productions about Haskell’s behavior. They had copies of egregious emails from Haskell, some of which are included in this article. 
   
   The duo expected that Dick Clark Productions, a large entertainment company, would be horrified by the messages. In the meeting, Amy Thurlow and Mark Bracco, both executives at Dick Clark Productions who held the two Miss America board seats, thanked Hopper and Adams for providing the emails and told them Dick Clark Productions would conduct its own investigation. 
   
   A month later, Adams received a cease-and-desist letter from a law firm representing the Miss America Organization. It read, “Your deliberate actions constitute a clear violation of the Non-disclosure Agreement you knowingly and willfully entered into….the letter directed to the Chairman of the Board from Dick Clark Productions, dated September 13, 2017, noticed us of your illegal disclosure of information, which includes several internal email communications.” 
   
   The two Dick Clark executives presented the emails to the board, hoping it would lead to a change in leadership, according to two well-placed sources who are familiar with the executives’ thinking at the time. 
   
   But, the sources said, no change took place. In fact, last September, knowing full well the kind of language Friedman used in his emails about former Miss Americas, the board allowed him to continue to write for the Miss America pageant telecast. 
   
   Based on the board’s refusal to take action in response to the disturbing emails, Dick Clark Productions decided to end its agreement with the Miss America Organization, the sources said. Several prominent Miss America supporters were stunned at the news. The agreement was a lifeline to Miss America ― the production company covered the costs of producing the telecast; paid the Miss America Organization a fee as part of the agreement; and featured, among other things, the current Miss America on the various awards telecasts it produces, like the Billboard Awards. 
   
   In a statement Thursday to HuffPost, Dick Clark Productions explained its decision: “Several months ago, dick clark productions was made aware of a portion of the emails that were referenced in the December 21 Huffington Post article. We were appalled by their unacceptable content and insisted, in the strongest possible terms, that the Miss America Organization (MAO) board of directors conduct a comprehensive investigation and take appropriate action to address the situation. Shortly thereafter, we resigned our board positions and notified MAO that we were terminating our relationship with them.” 
   
   The same prominent Miss America supporters said they found it unfathomable that the board would side with Haskell and Friedman over Dick Clark Productions. 
   
   ‘These Young Women Put Their Heart And Soul Into Being the Best They Can Be’ 
   
   Steve Marcus / Reuters Audience members cheer contestants during the 2010 Miss America pageant. 
   
   Unsurprisingly, the email that angered the people who spoke to HuffPost for this article the most was the one referring to former Miss Americas as “cunts.” In particular, sources found it offensive that Haskell appeared to think that was funny. 
   
   Hopper recounted how she reacted to the email by sharing what she experienced at the last Miss Arkansas pageant, when the reigning Miss America Savvy Shields, who is from the state, made an appearance. 
   
   “I sat in the audience and watched her [Miss America] walk out on stage, and the young women and those in the audience all wanted to see and hear her. And that email floated into my head, and tears started running down my face,” she said. “Across this country, there are parents who are sitting in audiences who put their young daughters into this system with the trust that they’re going to walk away from participating with something good. These young women put their heart and soul into being the best they can be. That the CEO of this organization would agree that word is the perfect characterization of Miss Americas and then laugh ― it’s heartbreaking.” 
   
   This article has been updated with Haskell’s suspension Friday. ||||| CLOSE CEO Sam Haskell, president and COO Josh Randle and board chairwoman Lynn Weidner have all stepped down after internal emails were published showing Miss America contestants described with vulgar and offensive language. Wochit 
   
   Miss America chief executive officer Sam Haskell is shown with Miss America 2018 Cara Mund, on Sept. 10, 2017, after the pageant held in Atlantic City. (Photo: Thomas P. Costello, Asbury Park Press-USA TODAY NETWORK) 
   
   Three Miss America Organization leaders have resigned following an email scandal in which vulgar, offensive language was used to describe former Miss America contestants, USA TODAY confirmed Saturday. 
   
   The resignation of its Executive Chairman and Chief Executive, Sam Haskell, who was suspended from the organization Friday as he was put under investigation, will be effective immediately, according to a statement from interim chairman Dan Meyers. 
   
   The board further accepted the resignation of chairman Lynn Weidner along with President and Chief Operating Officer Josh Randle. The two will remain in their current positions for several more weeks to "facilitate a smooth transition," according to Meyers' statement. 
   
   The organization said its board of directors accepted Randle's resignation Saturday "in light of recent events and new developments." 
   
   ► Friday: Miss America CEO Sam Haskell suspended over offensive emails 
   
   ► Friday: 131 so far accused of sexual misconduct in 'Harvey Weinstein effect' 
   
   The Miss America Organization was rocked following the release of internal emails published Thursday on Huffington Post. The published messages showed offensive language Haskell used to describe 2013 Miss America Mallory Hagan — describing her as "fat and gross" in one note. 
   
   In another exchange from August 2014, Haskell received an email that said Hagan’s hairdresser had been commenting on Hagan’s sex life as well as her recent weight gain. 
   
   Miss New York Mallory Hagan reacts as she is crowned Miss America 2013 in Las Vegas. (Photo: Isaac Brekken, AP) 
   
   Haskell forwarded the email to Miss America telecast lead writer Lewis Friedman and noted, “Not a single day passes that I am not told some horrible story about Mallory.” 
   
   Friedman replied, “Mallory’s preparing for her new career … as a blimp in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. As she continues to destroy her own credibility, her voice will attract less and less notice while she continues her descent to an unhappy pathetic footnote.” 
   
   Friedman ended the email with this: “P.S. Are we four the only ones not to have (slept with) Mallory?” 
   
   ► Thursday: Miss America chief exec accused of slut-shaming, fat-shaming winners 
   
   ► Sept. 12: Miss America 2018 on wanting to run for office, winning crown 
   
   Haskell replied, “It appears we are the only ones!” 
   
   Haskell had been suspended pending the investigation. 
   
   "Much of what was reported is dishonest, deceptive, and despicable," he said in a statement released Friday. "The material is based on private emails that were stolen three years ago by ex-employees. The story is so unkind and untrue, and hurts me, my family, and the stewardship of this non-profit." 
   
   Miss America CEO Sam Haskell is shown with Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields. (Photo: Thomas P. Costello) 
   
   Hagan was among dozens of former Miss Americas who signed a petition, which Miss North Carolina 1991 Jennifer Vaden Barth started Friday, calling on the group's leadership to step down. The petition called the emails from Haskell and others “despicable” and faulted officials who “sat by without objection while such derisive comments were passed around.” 
   
   On Jan. 25, 2015, Haskell forwarded a photo of Hagan with three other former Miss Americas to Randle and said, “Look at MH in this photo...OMG," the Huffington Post reported. 
   
   Randle reportedly replied, “She’s a healthy one!! Hahaha.” 
   
   ► Sept. 11: Miss Texas slams Trump's Charlottesville comments 
   
   ► Sept. 10: Miss North Dakota Cara Mund takes Miss America crown 
   
   On Saturday, Randle told The Associated Press that his comment responding to an email to his private account about Hagan's physical appearance came months before he started working for the Miss America Organization in 2015. But he said it was wrong. 
   
   “I apologize to Mallory for my lapse in judgment,” Randle said. “It does not reflect my values or the values I worked to promote at the Miss America Organization. Although this terrible situation was not caused or driven by me, in light of recent events and new developments, I am no longer willing to continue in my capacity as president and earlier today offered my resignation to the MAO Board of Directors. 
   
   “I feel terrible, but this is the right thing to do,” he said. 
   
   ► Sept. 9: Road for Miss Missouri, first openly gay contestant, to pageant 
   
   ► Sept. 8: Miss Louisiana wins swimsuit competition on Night 2 
   
   Randle said his resignation was voluntary and the board of Miss America, based in Atlantic City, N.J., had not requested it. In May at age 29, Randle became the youngest president of the Miss America organization in its history. 
   
   Haskell joined Miss America’s board in 2005 after retiring from the William Morris Agency, now called WME, where he was the worldwide head of television. 
   
   Gretchen Carlson, 1989 Miss America, tweeted a statement from herself and Kate Shindle, 1998 Miss America, Saturday calling the resignations "reassuring" but adding "this by no means fulfills the need for a thorough housecleaning of the Board." 
   
   "We will continue to demand the resignations of every individual who either participated in the abuse of women or stood by and was complicit," the statement said. 
   
   Follow Sara M. Moniuszko and Bryan Alexander on Twitter: @SaraMoniuszko and @BryAlexand 
   
   Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2BrXeLr ||||| "Those who know my heart know that this is not indicative of my character, nor is it indicative of my business acumen," Haskell said. "I was under stress from a full year of attacks by two Miss Americas, and while I don't ever want to offer an excuse, I do want to offer context." ||||| President and COO Josh Randle has also submitted his resignation, according to the Huffington Post. 
   
   Sam Haskell, CEO of the Miss America Organization, has submitted his resignation amid an unfolding scandal involving unearthed vulgar emails he sent about contestants. Chairman Lynn Weidner, who sent some of the emails included in the initial report, has also resigned. 
   
   The developments come one day after the Miss America Organization board of directors voted to suspend Haskell pending an investigation into disparaging internal emails about contestants. The Huffington Post first published the emails Thursday, showing Haskell commenting crudely on the appearances of women who had competed in the pageant to other members of the organization. 
   
   Josh Randle, president and COO, has also resigned, along with fellow member Tammy Haddad, HuffPost's Yashar Ali first reported on Saturday. 
   
   The board had announced it would be conducting an investigation into the alleged inappropriate communications, telling The Hollywood Reporter on Friday: "The Board wishes to reaffirm our commitment to the education and empowerment of young women, supporting them in every way possible." 
   
   Dan Meyers, who has stepped in as interim chairman, confirmed Haskell's resignation is effective immediately. 
   
   “This afternoon, the Board of Directors of the Miss America Organization accepted the resignation of Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sam Haskell, effective immediately," he said in a statement. "The Board of Directors also accepted the resignation of Chairman Lynn Weidner. At the Board’s request, Ms. Weidner has agreed to remain on the Board for up to ninety days to facilitate a smooth transition for the MAO to new leadership." 
   
   Adding, "The Board thanks Lynn and Sam for many years of tireless work for, and significant financial support to, both the Miss America Organization and thousands of young women who received millions of dollars of educational scholarships from the Organization as a direct result of their efforts.” 
   
   Randle will also stay on for a few weeks to hep the transition. "Earlier today, in light of recent events and new developments, the Miss America Organization’s Board of Directors received and accepted the resignation of President & COO Josh Randle," said a spokesperson in a statement to THR. "At the Board’s request, Josh has agreed to remain in his current current capacity for several weeks to facilitate a smooth transition." 
   
   1989 Miss America Gretchen Carlson, who reportedly clashed with Haskell and was one of many targets in the ousted CEO's emails, released a statement on Twitter following the news. 
   
   "While it is reassuring that some of the perpetrators of the abuses within the Miss America Organization have resigned, this by no means fulfills the need for a thorough housecleaning of the Board," she said, calling for more board members who were involved with the unfolding scandal to step forward and resign. "We will continue to demand the resignations of every individual who either participated in the abuse of women or stood by and was complicit by failing to conduct proper due diligence." 
   
   She added, "This Board has lost the trust of the country. For the good of the organization, they must step away." 
   
   In the emails Haskell, who was formerly executive vp and head of TV at the William Morris Agency, jokes about renaming former Miss America winners "C—s" and calls the past winners a "pile of malcontent," among other misogynistic and fat-shaming claims. 
   
   Haskell called the claims "unkind and untrue," though he did not specify which belonged in the latter category. “Much of what was reported is dishonest, deceptive, and despicable. The material is based on private emails that were stolen three years ago by ex-employees," he said in his statement. 
   
   Dick Clark Productions, which has a three-year deal with the Miss America Organization to produce the TV pageants, said the company was "appalled" by the content of the emails and that after being made aware of allegations of sexual misconduct in August 2017, terminated its relationship with the Miss America Organization. "Shortly thereafter, we resigned our board positions and notified MAO that we were terminating our relationship with them," said the statement in part. 
   
   ABC airs the annual pageant, which takes place in Atlantic City and is hosted by Chris Harrison. 
   
   Dec. 23, 12 p.m.: Updated with Haskell's resignation; MAO statement. 
   
   Dec. 23, 3:27 p.m.: Updated with Carlson's statement.
target: – Miss America chairman and CEO Sam Haskell resigned Saturday—just a day after saying he wouldn't, the New York Daily News reports. He was joined by chairman Lynn Weidner, president and COO Josh Randle, and board member Tammy Haddad. The resignations of Miss America leadership come after HuffPo published internal emails Thursday that feature Haskell calling a former Miss America winner "fat and gross" and joking that he's one of very few people who haven't had sex with her, according to USA Today. He also mused about renaming Miss America winners "c--ts," as per the Hollywood Reporter. On Friday, Haskell was suspended pending an investigation as 49 former Miss America winners signed a petition calling on pageant leadership to resign. Haskell remained adamant that he wouldn't resign over what he said were false accusations and a "mistake of words." In a statement, the Miss America Organization says Haskell's resignation will take effect immediately. Randle and Weidner will stay on for the coming weeks to "facilitate a smooth transition." "The board thanks Lynn and Sam for many years of tireless work for, and significant financial support to, both the Miss America Organization and thousands of young women," the statement reads. In addition, the board says it "will be conducting an in-depth investigation" into the emails.