Miss America drops swimsuit competition: "We are no longer a pageant"

TheWrap

“We are a competition," explained Gretchen Carlson in announcing that Miss America will no longer judge based on physical appearances. Carlson, the former Miss America who was named chair of the Miss America Organization board of trustees after the pageant's CEO resigned in scandal last December, revealed the news on Good Morning America this morning. She had promised a "tsunami" of changes at the Miss America Organization. Carlson says the swimsuit competition will be replaced by a live interactive session with the judges. “We’ve heard from a lot of young women who say, ‘We’d love to be a part of your program but we don’t want to be out there in high heels and a swimsuit,’ so guess what, you don’t have to do that anymore,” said Carlson.