Miss USA 2022
Miss USA 2022 was the 71st Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on 3 October 2022.
At the end of the event, Elle Smith of Kentucky crowned R'Bonney Gabriel of Texas as Miss USA 2022. This was Texas' tenth Miss USA title and first win in 14 years. At the age of, Gabriel became the oldest Miss USA winner in the pageant's history, surpassing Cheslie Kryst in 2019, who was also 28 when she crowned, and the first titleholder of Filipino descent.
Gabriel went on to win Miss Universe in New Orleans, becoming the ninth American woman to do so. With the win, her title was rescinded, and the first runner-up, Morgan Romano of North Carolina, assumed the Miss USA title on January 27, 2023 in a ceremony in Auburn, Alabama. Romano became the fourth woman from North Carolina to hold the Miss USA title.
The competition was hosted by Zuri Hall for the second consecutive year, while Julissa Bermudez and Micah Jesse served as sideline correspondents. This competition was broadcast on the FYI cable channel. American musician Chloe Flower performed in this edition.
Background
Location, hosts, and performer
On 14 July 2022, it was reported that the competition would be held in Reno, Nevada, with the city securing a three-year deal to host the pageant. This would be the second time that the pageant is held in Reno, following Miss USA 2019. The following day, it was confirmed that the pageant would be held at the Grand Sierra Resort on October 3. National Director Crystle Stewart confirmed that the location was chosen to honor Cheslie Kryst, whom had been crowned Miss USA 2019 in the same venue and had died by suicide in January 2022.Selection of contestants
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the duration between most of the state pageants from Miss USA 2021. The previous year's state titleholders' reign was shortened to between eight and eleven months, depending on the state. Delegates from the 50 states and the District of Columbia are selected in state pageants in a period began in September 2021 and scheduled to end in July 2022 to avoid scheduling conflicts with Miss America 2023 state pageants. The state pageant schedule can become very busy between the last state pageant held from 2021. The first state pageants were Miss Idaho USA and Montana USA, held together on September 12, 2021, and the last state pageant was Colorado USA, held on July 3, 2022.Eleven delegates have previously competed in Miss Teen USA and Miss America, eight are former Miss Teen USA state winners, two are a former Miss America state titleholders, and one is a former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state titleholder.
Controversy
In 2020, Crystle Stewart, who had previously won the Miss USA 2008 competition while representing Texas, became the National Director of the Miss USA pageant. In September 2022, prior to the national competition, state officials had expressed concern that Stewart, as the most recent Texas USA winner to win the national-level competition, was providing preferential treatment to the 2022 Miss Texas USA winner, R'Bonney Gabriel. Less than 24 hours after Gabriel ultimately won the October 2022 competition, pageant sponsor Nizuc Resort and Spa posted videos on Instagram showing Gabriel at their resort in Cancún, Mexico. While the state-level winners had visited the resort prior to the national competition, Gabriel and Miss Colorado USA Alexis Glover did not attend this retreat because their respective state competitions occurred afterward. Citing the promotional footage, Miss Montana USA Heather Lee O'Keefe and Miss Georgia USA Holly Haynes alleged that Gabriel had been rigged to win the competition, but the Miss USA organization claimed that Gabriel had immediately flown from the pageant venue to the resort after winning the competition. In an interview with E! News, Gabriel denied claims that the pageant was rigged, stating "I would never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win."Results
Placements
§ – Voted into the Top 16 by viewers.∞ – Gabriel won Miss Universe 2022. Due to protocol, Gabriel relinquished her title and the 1st runner-up, Morgan Romano, assumed the Miss USA title.
Pageant
Judges
- Ashlee Clarke – American businesswoman and producer
- Soo Yeon Lee – South Korean table tennis player and model
- Kirk Myers – American fitness trainer
- Olivia Ponton – American model and social media influencer
- Aaron Potts – American fashion designer
- Nicole Williams-English – Canadian fashion designer and model