♪ ♪ always always you ♪ ♪ i finally see, there was nothing wrong with me ♪ ♪ it was always you ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> announcer: this is "nightline." >> jimmy: tonight, shocking allegations against the miss usa organization. >> they were ill treated. abused, bullied and cornered. >> jimmy: the moms of miss usa and miss teen usa speaking out after their daughters' stunning

resignations. shining a spotlight on what they say is the toxic culture behind the glitz and glam. some former titleholders coming out in solidarity. >> they continue to go down the path of being strictly a business and not worrying about the identities of these queens of people under the crowns, i think this could be the end of pageantry. >> the changes they say need to happen now. plus a second chance at space. >> it's what led me to freedom. >> amanda nguyen set to become the first woman of vietnamese descent in space. her new shot at a childhood dream after it was deferred pursuing justice for sexual abuse survivors. >> my name is amanda nguyen, and i am a rape survivor. >> turning her trauma into action. >> when you have an opportunity to fight for what you believe in, you take it. and caitlin clark lacing up for her first wnba game. >> she got it! >> what went down on the court.

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>> juju: thanks for joining us. tonight you're about to hear from the morlths of miss usa and miss teen usa speaking out on behalf of their daughters who they say have been silenced by non-disclosure agreements.

both contestants giving up their krounds after experiencing what their mothers say was a toxic harassment and bullying by america's two biggest beauty pageants. could the future of pageants hang in the balance? here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: the moms of former miss usa noelia voigt and miss teen usa umasofia srivastava speaking out days after their daughters both resigned rocking the pageant world. >> we could not continue this charade. the girls decided to step down and give their dream of a lifetime, a crown, a national title. why would two girls decide to give that up? >> reporter: the beauty queens alleging a very ugly work environment that turned toxic. but they are bound by contracts which include confidentiality clauses. fans online noticed immediately when noelia posted her resignation online that the sentences seemed to start with letters that spelled out "i am silenced." >> correct. >> reporter: was that intentional on her part? >> i don't feel comfortable answering that question. >> reporter: do you feel like

she was silenced? >> she is and she would be the rest of her life. this nda has not been left. the girls need to speak. >> reporter: the miss usa and miss teen usa competitions, two of the longest-running pageants in the country -- >> the title of miss united states goes to a cinderella girl. >> you're miss usa and teen usa are arguably one of the most prominent and preeminent pageant systems in the united states. >> reporter: it's a platform that's launched some of entertainment's biggest names. like oscar winner halle berry, who competed as miss ohio in 1986, and model olivia culpo who went on to win miss universe in 2012. >> i see pageantry as a place where women actually find what makes them remarkable and unique and helps them then fine-tune and hone those gifts. >> reporter: miss usa reportedly receives a six-figure salary and other perks. today the organization is run by

layla rose, a former model, who took the reins as president and ceo last august. but just last week in an announcement that shook the pageant world noelia declaring that she was resigning as miss usa. >> as someone who had watched her just dig her heels in and decide i'm going to throw myself at it 300%, and to hear that this was the best thing for her was to step away from a dream that had been eight years in the making was really hard to hear. it was painful. >> reporter: just two days later umasofia also announcing she was turning in her miss teen usa tiara too. >> my personal values no longer align with the direction the organization is going into. >> reporter: many other miss usa titleholders supporting their decision and asking the organization to release them from their ndas. miss colorado, ariana limas, even announcing on instagram that she's resigning in solidarity with noelia and umasofia. and miss usa's former social

media director, claudia englehardt, recently quitting her job, describing what she says was her experience working for the organization. >> it was a series of aggressive behaviors toward the titleholders and also the employees. >> reporter: the miss usa organization firing back at claudia's claims, telling emplo. miss usa is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and supportive environment and we take these allegations seriously. indeed, we have and will continue to prioritize the well-being of all individuals involved with miss usa." 24-year-old noelia voigt, crowned last september, the first venezuelan american to win the title. the history-making moment broadcast on the cw network. >> utah! >> reporter: but roughly halfway through her reign she submitted an eight-age resignation letter blasting miss usa and its president, layla rose, writing in part, "there is a toxic work environment within the miss usa

organization that at best is poor management, at worst is bullying and harassment." adding "i was made to feel unsafe at events without an effective handler, and this culminated in being sexually harassed." jackie voigt says noelia received unwanted advances at a christmas parade. >> i saw noelia so stressed out. and i said what happened? and she said mom, get in the car, get in the car. when i got in the car i said what happened? because i know he said something but i couldn't get it. he told noelia are you into old mens with money? and it makes noelia very, very uncomfortable. >> reporter: she says in her letter that layla's response was "we cannot prevent people from saying things to you at public appearances," this essentially just comes with the territory. >> no even i'm sorry you went through that. miss universe organization need to come out and speak to us or apologize or clean this mess. >> reporter: 16-year-old umasofia also making history last fall with her coronation,

becoming the first miss teen usa of mexican and indian descent. her moment playing out on the cw network. >> new jersey! >> reporter: her mother alleges like noelia the teen was bullied by management, causing her to miss out on opportunities all while having her personal social media surveilled and controlled. >> so i want to be clear, it's not about what they didn't get about the prizes. it's about how they were ill-treated. abused, bullied and cornered. >> reporter: she says once noelia resigned umasofia knew she needed to do the same. >> i think it's important that we advocate for the power of our voices and for acceptance. >> when she saw that they were tagging noelia's mental health she said i cannot stand for this, i need to stand up for noelia. >> reporter: both moms say they want layla rose to step down. abc news reached out to rose about these claims but have not heard back. the miss usa organization telling abc news, "we are committed to fostering a

healthy, communicative and supportive environment for all contestants, state titleholders, national titleholders and staff." the cw, which airs the miss usa and miss teen usa competitions, now says it is evaluating the relationship with the pageants in light of these resignations and allegations. >> the pageant industry needs to either take a good look at themselves and then continue to go down the path of just being strictly a business and not worrying about the people under the crowns. i think that this could be the end of pageantry. >> reporter: for tatyana diaz, who was crowned miss new york in 2015, some of noelia's complaints about the miss usa organization hit close to home. >> even at a local level if a pageant titleholder is attending an event there should be someone within the organization there to best assist her. >> reporter: thatiana, now the editor in chief of the latino publication remezcla, is calling for the miss usa organization to

take better care of their queens and provide added support in their roles. >> i just think treating them as employees and having a human resources change can really change the way that titleholders feel within the system. >> i think the focal point of pageantry is amplifying the voices of young women and we should always be able to use our voice even if it shakes. >> reporter: stephanie skinner is the first runner-up for miss teen usa. she was offered the crown when umasofia stepped down but declined to take on the role. instead opting for a summer internship abroad. >> my word is my everything. and i gave my word in my prior commitment to the university of pennsylvania. i will always stand up for women making the choices that they feel best serve them. and that's why i offer noelia and umasofia my support. >> reporter: stephanie says she still has faith in the organization. >> i'm hopeful for a change. at the end of the day the focus is on championing women's

voices. >> reporter: while there is not a new miss teen usa, there is a new miss usa. savannah gankowicz, the first runner-up and miss hawaii, has accepted the role and will be crowned tomorrow. in a statement posted to instagram she says, "my decision to accept the miss usa crown was not one that was made lightly. i stand with noelia and admire her stront to step down and prioritize her mental health." noelia details in her resignation letter the impact she says her experience has had on her. saying, "i am now diagnosed with anxiety, i'm experiencing heart palpitations, full body shakes, loss of appetite, unintentional weight loss, loss of sleep, loss of hair and more." now the moms have a warning for future contestants. >> look at what happened to noelia and umasofia. so really pay attention. we don't want them to go through this. right now is not the right time to participate. >> reporter: so you think that young women should essentially

stop participating in these types of pageants? >> absolutely. if we just don't want these families and these girls to go through what we're going through. >> juju: our thanks to erielle. when we return, one woman's dream of making history in the cosmos. now set for lift-off. sfx: [birds chirping] for nourished, lightweight hair, the right ingredients make all the difference. new herbal essences sulfate free is now packed with plant-based ingredients your hair will love. like pure aloe. and camellia flower oil. and none of the things it won't. hair feels deeply nourished, soft and lightweight. plant power you can feel. new herbal essences sulfate free. (vo) beneful knows a full life doesn't just happen...it's a choice plant power you can feel. to take a swing... to taste all life has to offer. choose joy, choose beneful.

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space? >> i think that the stars are a shared vision. there's this aspect, especially in science fiction, people really gravitate towards the stars because it allows us to imagine what a fair future might look like. >> juju: hmm. ever since she was a young girl amanda nguyen imagined her future among the stars. as an astronaut. >> i really have a connection with the stars because it's what led my family to freedom. my mom, her siblings are boat refugees from vietnam. and they used celestial navigation in order to find their way to freedom. >> hi. how are you? i wore my flight suit for you. >> juju: i met up with one of "time's" women of the year of 2022 at the liberty science center in new jersey. the activist now on the cusp of making history as the first woman of vietnamese descent to go into space, overcoming personal pain and generational

trauma to reach for the stars. the weight of breaking that glass ceiling, being the first vietnamese woman to space, is to let every young vietnamese girl know that we belong, that they can see themselves in the stars and that their dreams no matter how big are absolutely real and they matter. >> juju: a lifelong dream come true. but it almost didn't happen. >> i during my last semester at harvard was raped. i went to do the things that people tell survivors to do. go get help. go to the police. go to the hospital. but juju, the worst thing that happened to me wasn't being raped. it was being betrayed by america's criminal justice system. i found out that my rape kit, untested, would be destroyed in six months by massachusetts and that when i spoke up about my story other survivors all across america had faced these issues

too. >> juju: and in that moment you felt as though you had to decide between justice and your life's dream. >> i had to make a choice. and i couldn't live with myself if i chose not to pursue justice. when i spoke up, there were so many people who reached out to tell me their stories. and in that moment i realized that my story wasn't mine alone. >> juju: fueled by the way she says her case was mishandled, she turned her trauma into action and a call for change. >> my name is amanda nguyen, and i am a rape survivor. >> juju: in 2016 the 32-year-old was a major force behind congress passing a bipartisan sexual assault survivor's bill of rights. >> when president obama signed my law, we heard from over a million people around t to join wanted to bring this fight on a global level. and so we did. >> when i spoke at the united nations last november, i wore the same clothes that i wore on

the day i was raped. >> it was not only to save my own rape kit from destruction but also for the 25 million other rape survivors in the united states, the right to be notified about your rights. the right to not have your evidence be destroyed. the right to not have to pay for your rape kit. the right to request a police report. >> juju: adding to all that she's accomplished, just a few months ago the call of a lifetime. a few philanthropies decided to sponsor her ticket to the cosmos. >> with this flight i'm so grateful to blue origin, to space for humanity, to the supporters because it symbolizes this idea that many astronauts go through when they see earth for the first time, when they look back they are overwhelmed with the fact that everyone is on this pale blue dot. >> this one is very special to

me. so this is the note i wrote to myself after i left the hospital after my rape kit. as a survivor to myself i will definitely be flying with me to space. >> juju: you said this launch into space feels like a form of justice. >> being able to answer those promises to myself, to the person who wrote this, you know, never, never, never give up for me was of course about surviving rape in the immediate aftermath. but also it's evolved over time, you know, to passing and penning my own civil rights into existence. >> juju: though no date has been announced the new shepard rocket will launch later this year. >> this one is a picture of my mother, my grandma and my grandpa. and it was taken by my uncle, who was the captain of the boat. >> reporter: with amanda on board, carrying her family's story with her.

[ speaking in a non-english language ] >> juju: and can you translate that for me now in english? >> yes. it means you swam so i could fly. you crossed the ocean so i could touch the sky. >> juju: i get misty-eyed every time you say that. what does that phrase mean for you as you sit preparing for a launch into space? >> it means that i am the dreams of my ancestors. we came on boats, and now we're on spaceships. in one generation. that really speaks to the power that we have, that asian women have. i wouldn't be where i am if it weren't for her crossing the ocean. >> juju: do you feel like launching yourself into space is another form of representation? not only are you the first vietnamese american woman in space but you're also the first southeast asian woman in space. there's a lot of firsts there.

>> what's important to me is bringing my community with me. i know the pain of trying so hard to dream for something but not seeing myself in it. and just as i fought for my civil rights as a survivor so that no one would have to go through that again, when i fly i want to show all the young asian american, azn women out there, and especially the vietnamese community that they belong in the stars. >> juju: and when we return, caitlin clark's first big game in the big leagues. did she bring the indiana fever to victory? s ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help.

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>> juju: and finally tonight, caitlin clark's first official game in the big leagues. did she bring her team to victory? in their first sellout season opener in more than two decades the connecticut sun tonight spoiling caitlin clark's wnba debut with a 92-71 win over her indiana fever. clark scored 20 points and lots of applause, even as part of the away team. but indiana was outgunned by the hometown sun and its one-two punch of dewanna bonner and alyssa thomas. clark will have a sat at redemption on thursday night when the fever take on the new york liberty. that's "nightline." thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. >> announcer: "nightline." the stories that shape your world, shape your life. dramatic, stunning, empowering, jaw-dropping. watc