The Miss America and Miss Florida groups that put on pageant competitions each year may have violated state law when they kicked out a contestant who refused to sign a contract opening up the competition to transgender females, according to Attorney General James Uthemeier.
Uthmeier sent a letter to the two organizations Friday alerting them they could have violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act by marketing themselves as competitions for women but allowing transgender women to compete.
He cited the case of Kayleigh Bush, whose title of Miss North Florida 2025 was taken away after she declined to sign a contract that included contestants that are female or “an individual who has fully completed sex reassignment surgery via vaginoplasty (from male to female) with supporting medical documentation and records.”
“Both organizations made statements advertising that only females can compete, when in fact men are apparently also permitted to compete,” Uthmeier wrote.
The groups were given a May 1 deadline to “take corrective action” or face “enforcement action.”
“By misleading Kayleigh and other Florida women, Miss America and Miss Florida undermine the values they claim to advance – female well-being,” Uthmeier states. “Both organizations should disallow men from competing in their pageants.”
Update: The Miss America organization and its general council reached out to Orlando Weekly after our publication of this News Service of Florida article. The statement provided reads in part:
“Kayleigh Bush was awarded the title of Miss North Florida on August 3, 2024, and retained her title throughout her participation. She was never stripped of her title or scholarship dollars. Ms. Bush ultimately chose not to sign the standard participant contract required of all competitors.”
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