Miss USA 2024 Alma Cooper has made the surprising decision not to attend this year\u2019s pageant\u2014just hours before a new winner was set to be crowned.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old Stanford student and U.S. Army First Lieutenant announced her choice on Instagram on Friday (October 24), sharing that she will not be in Reno, Nevada for the Miss USA 2025 competition.<\/p>\n
Keep reading to find out more\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter much consideration, I\u2019ve made the extremely difficult decision not to attend this year\u2019s Miss USA pageant and crowning ceremony,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAs 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a longer statement shared with People<\/a>, Alma reflected on becoming the first Afro-Latina woman to win Miss USA and balancing her reign with her Army duties.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 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,\u201d she said, noting that she paused her postgraduate studies to perform her Army recruitment work and her Miss USA 2024 duties.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n Before the Miss USA preliminaries, on October 22, CEO and President Thom Brodeur shared through Instagram Stories that the organization had invited Alma to participate \u201cin whatever capacity she was most comfortable,\u201d adding, \u201cWe honor you, Alma. You are a queen. You are our queen even if we didn\u2019t start this journey with you. And, you are forever our Miss USA 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n For some additional background, it\u2019s worth mentioning that the 2025 Miss Teen USA and Miss USA competitions are the first held under Brodeur\u2018s leadership. <\/p>\n The Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants have seen major changes in recent years, \u201cmost notably after the 2023 adult and junior winners, Miss USA Noelia Voigt<\/a> and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava, relinquished their titles,\u201d per People.<\/p>\n Their shocking resignations made history as the first time a reigning titleholder had stepped down in the pageant\u2019s 72 years. According to NBC News<\/a>, which reviewed Noelia\u2018s resignation letter at the time, she claimed that Miss USA CEO Laylah Rose fostered a toxic work environment.<\/p>\n Laylah denied the allegations in a statement to the Los Angeles Times<\/a>. <\/p>\n Brodeur was ultimately named her replacement by the Miss Universe organization.<\/p>\n