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\nAlma Cooper, the winner of Miss USA 2024, announced that she would not be attending the 2025 pageant to crown her successorThe finals take place on Friday, Oct. 24, in Reno, Nev., at the Grand Sierra ResortThis year’s Miss USA and Miss Teen USA are the first pageants to be held under the leadership of the organization\u2019s new CEO, Thom Brodeur<\/p>\n
Last year’s Miss USA winner, Alma Cooper<\/a>, is bucking tradition and will not attend the 2025 pageant to crown her successor.\n<\/p>\n Hours before Miss USA’s final round on Friday, Oct. 24, the Stanford student, 23, took to Instagram<\/a> to share that she will not be in Reno, Nev., to crown her successor as expected.\n<\/p>\n “After much consideration, I\u2019ve made the extremely difficult decision not to attend this year\u2019s Miss USA pageant and crowning ceremony,” Cooper captioned her post. “As I close this chapter, I do so with the knowledge that I finished what I started with integrity and my self-worth held high, just like the crown I was honored to wear.”\n<\/p>\n PEOPLE has reached out to Miss USA for comment.\n<\/p>\n In an extended version of her statement shared exclusively with PEOPLE, she continued to relish her accomplishments in the pageantry world. She noted that becoming the first Afro-Latina woman to win Miss USA “was one of my life\u2019s greatest joys and accomplishments.”\n<\/p>\n Alma Cooper at Miss USA 2024.<\/p>\n Gilbert Flores\/Variety via Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n “For the past year, I have done my absolute best to honor the prestigious title while also serving as [First Lieutenant] Cooper in the U.S. Army,” the West Point graduate continues, noting that she paused her postgraduate studies at Stanford University to dually embrace her Army recruiting work and her role as Miss USA 2024.\n<\/p>\n “Despite the mental, physical and emotional load I was set to carry, like any other full-time job, I was confident that I could push myself to deliver the excellence, wit, poise and intelligence that the title required. I was ready and willing to wear the crown with pride,” reads Cooper’s extended statement. “I worked up until the very last second to give my all because I believe that one\u2019s character is not only built by challenges, but revealed.”\n<\/p>\n Ahead of the pageant preliminaries on Wednesday, Oct. 22, Miss USA CEO and President\u00a0Thom Brodeur<\/a> addressed “Cooper’s participation in the 2025 pageant” on his Instagram Stories<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Contestants at the Miss USA 2024 pageant on Aug. 4, 2024 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Alberto E. Rodriguez\/Getty<\/p>\n “Our office has been in touch with Alma and her representative since the day we announced taking over Miss USA as the new leadership team,” he wrote. “Our dream was to warmly welcome Alma to participate in the 2025 competition in whatever capacity she was most comfortable.”\n<\/p>\n Brodeur continued to state that the organization had not yet received confirmation of her attendance. “But our invitation still stands and we hope to provide her the dignified end to her reign that she deserves,” his Oct. 22 statement continued.\n<\/p>\n Addressing the previous titleholder directly, Brodeur added, “We honor you, Alma. You are a queen. You are our queen even if we didn’t start this journey with you. And, you are forever our Miss USA 2024.”\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n Alma Cooper after winning Miss USA 2024.<\/p>\n Alberto E. Rodriguez\/Getty<\/p>\n This year’s Miss USA and Miss Teen USA competitions were the first held under the leadership of Brodeur. Prior to his takeover, the sister pageants suffered some shakeups, most notably after the 2023 adult and junior winners, Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastav,\u00a0relinquished their titles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Their bombshell actions marked the first time that any queen had given up her crown in the pageant’s 72-year history. At the time,\u00a0NBC News<\/a>\u00a0obtained a copy of Voigt’s resignation letter and\u00a0reported that she accused the pageant\u2019s CEO, Laylah Rose<\/a>,\u00a0of creating a toxic workplace after Voigt told her she was sexually harassed at a Christmas event.\n<\/p>\n Rose denied the allegations in a statement to the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations of sexual harassment, toxic environment and bullying are not true,” the former pageant head said. “To be clear, such behavior is not accepted, and we can assure you that if such behavior ever occurred, we would take immediate steps to protect our titleholder and provide access to appropriate resources.”\n<\/p>\n News of Brodeur’s acquisition came just over a week after\u00a0Rose refuted claims that she was no longer in charge<\/a>. However, the Miss Universe organization \u2014 which owns and oversees both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA \u2014\u00a0officially named Brodeur as Rose’s replacement<\/a>\u00a0in a press release issued on Sept. 15.\n<\/p>\n Rose has not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.\n<\/p>\n In September, Brodeur shared his intentions to reform the pageant in ways that answer Voigt and Srivastav’s protests. He told PEOPLE that he was working through a contract amendment process meant to entitle winners to more freedoms.\n<\/p>\n “There was some pretty egregious NDA language that suppressed the voices of those two young women and did not give them the ability to speak about their journey. I want to remove that restriction,” he said.<\/p>\n