Indian-Mexican UmaSofia Srivastava gives up Miss Teen USA title, says personal values not aligned with organisation

Indian-Mexican origin UmaSofia Srivastava, who was crowned Miss Teen USA last year, gave up the title on Wednesday.

Srivastava said that her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organisation”.

Responding to her decision, Miss Teen USA thanked her for her services in a post on Instagram and said, “We respect and support UmaSofia’s decision to step down from her duties. The well-being of our titleholders is a top priority.”

“We are currently reviewing plans for the transition of responsibilities to a successor, and we will soon announce the crowning of a new Miss Teen USA,” the organisation added.

Srivastava’s decision to resign comes just days after Noelia Voigt resigned as Miss USA, citing mental health issues.

Srivastava said in a post on Instagram that she had been “grappling with the decision” for many months and thanked her family and well-wishers for supporting her. She said in the post that “it was certainly not how she saw her reign coming to a close”.

“I will always look back on my time as Miss NJ Teen USA fondly, and the experience of representing my state as a first generation, Mexican-Indian American at the national level was fulfilling in itself. After careful consideration, I’ve decided to resign as I find that my personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organisation,” she said in the post.

UmaSofia Srivastava said that she would continue her advocacy for “education and acceptance”, with her multilingual children’s book The White Jaguar and with the organisations she worked with before being crowned Miss Teen USA, namely The Lotus Petal Foundation and the Bridge of Books Foundation.

“Ultimately, working with these incredible non-profits and seeing the first-hand impact that The White Jaguar has had on the kids and adults I’ve read it to is what has forged my legacy. This work has always been my TRUE purpose,” she said.

“I look forward to the rest of the year as I finish 11th grade as part of the National Honor Society and start the college application process, knowing that my academic career has been defined by my hard work, and my hard work alone,” UmaSofia Srivastava said in the post, adding that she would also pursue a new writing project.