Here she comes…Miss USA. And, in a return to tradition, on a broadcast network…The CW.
Introduced in 1952 by the Catalina Swimwear company, the winner of the Miss USA beauty pageant, as always, represents the United States at the Miss Universe competition. The upcoming 72nd edition on The CW, hosted by Keltie Knight (“Entertainment Tonight”) and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton (“The Real”), will be telecast live from the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada on Friday, September 29 at 8 p ET. This will be the first time it is airing on a broadcast network since its 2016 edition on Fox. Prior to that, the annual event was featured on CBS from 1963 to 2002 and on NBC from 2003 to 2015.
Joining Keltie and Adrienne as judges are fashion designer and businesswoman Nicole Miller; actress Viveca A. Fox; model and singer Countess Luann Lesseps; model and entrepreneur Emina Cunmulaj Nazarian; and the founder of One/Size Beauty, Patrick Starrr. Jordan Kimball and the current Miss USA, Morgan Romano, will offer commentary.
“I think Miss USA, or any pageant of this nature, is now more important than ever because we are living in a time where we must not shy away from celebrating who we are,” noted Robert Russo, president of RNR Consulting. “For The CW, which is looking to broaden its audience, Miss USA is a step in that direction. For the overall linear broadcast platform, which is looking to remain relevant, it is a definite win.”
Companion pageant Miss Teen USA, hosted by Justin Sylvester (“E! News”), will be available to stream on The CW’s app and on CWTV.com on Thursday, September 28 at 7 p.m. PT. The judges will be actress Emily Shah; Mindy Mahy, founder of Kopu Water; the first Miss Teen USA, Ruth Zakarian; comedian Katie Cazorla; and model and content creator Tabitha Swatosh. Chris Persky and current Miss Teen USA Faron Medhi will serve as commentators.
Renato Basile of RB Entertainment Inc. will executive produce the two pageants. And both have a new owner, VVV Global Ent. founder Laylah Rose, who will serve as president and CEO. Rose will take over the Miss USA brand from the Miss Universe Organization and the pageant’s former national director, Crystle Stewart.
“For me, I just keep pushing forward with who I am and what I want to accomplish and do for the organization,” noted Laylah Rose, who in addition to serving as the CEO of the VIP Pageantry Network and owning her clothing brand Laylah Rose Couture is an author and a member of the U.S. National Committee for U.N. Women, the independent non-profit organization dedicated to public awareness and advocacy initiatives for gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The VIP Pageantry Network, which is available on mobile devices, offers a combination of full production, live streaming, and a magazine, all focused on the beauty, fashion, and pageant industries. In 2021, VIP Pageantry announced a broadcast agreement with the Syracuse, New York-based Subeat Studio to create and produce The PPGs, a scripted reality series made for the VIP’s OTT streaming channel and mobile app.
“I wanted to place myself in front of the right people to be acknowledged first and for the possibility second,” noted Rose. “My great-grandmother educated me about the pageant world because her daughter, my grandmother, is a beautiful 5’10” redhead and I happen to absolutely love the legendary Lucille Ball. There were so many attributes I saw in Lucy — power, intelligence, the entrepreneurial nature, and then beauty, which was the last piece. What she did in her time really broke so many glass ceilings. And the type of woman she was is so identifiable with what the Miss USA brand stands for.”
The Road to Miss USA for Layla Rose
“My daughter started modeling in pageantry, and from there she was in that age period where she was either too young for the typical young things and too old for other looks. So, I started creating her pieces,” said Rose, who is the mother of six. “Then I got a call from a producer from New York Fashion Week, who asked me to produce a few pieces.”
Ultimately, Rose’s daughter Maliyah Lorenzo represented Russell Township in the Miss Ohio Teen USA 2019 and was named the runner-up in the pageant in 2020.
“From my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother, and my child, we eventually had five generations of females in my family connected to the pageantry world,” she explained. “Pageantry and fashion go hand and hand, and I knew so many people in the pageant fashion world that did not have a platform for New York Fashion Week. So, I created one for them. And I created a worldwide network in 170 countries for VIP pageantry.”
Eventually, Rose was asked to be a panel judge for several USA Nationals, North American and International competitions. And, in 2018, she debuted her couture fashions as a member of the Counsel of Fashion Designers of America, and New York Fashion Week. When Thai businesswoman Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip purchased the Miss Universe Organization from the talent management company IMG in 2022, a meeting between the two resulted in Layla Rose ultimately acquiring the veteran Miss USA pageant.
“For the organization, you have to come in and not be selfish or have any type of greed in order for a philanthropy establishment like this to elevate and rise and flourish,” she said. “And that is exactly what my focus is.”
“My first order of business was the create a team of like-minded individuals to move Miss USA forward,” she added. “And they confirmed what I already knew, which is how relevant the pageant is right now and will be in the future. The goal is to elevate the brand, and when The CW said they had the airspace and was willing to make Miss Teen USA live, which has never been live before, we saw this as a win-win for both parties.”
Miss USA Moving Forward
“We are empowering individuals to be everything they can be, and we are empowering delegates to push forward and overcome barriers in the philanthropy world,” explained Rose. “I think inclusivity is so relevant and needed, and females, and delegates, and humans have been pushing for equality on all levels and on all platforms. This is exactly what The Miss USA organization is, and always will be.”
“We are fighting the fight, and we are pushing to make humans evolve in the best way we possibly can,” she added.
At this year’s pageant, 50 percent of the contestant’s score will be based on the interview segment, with 25 percent each on the evening gown and swimwear portions.
“Each individual competing is not on stage performing for the entire reign as Miss USA. They are the spokesmodels, the platform, and the voice for the philanthropy world and for the organization,” noted Rose. “Change is a necessary ingredient for growth, for success, and certainly for both personal development and for all who encompass the crown!”
“All these years later, it feels like Miss USA is just beginning,” she said.
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