General Counsel for the Miss America organizations issued a blistering response to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Friday, accusing the state’s top legal officer of spreading “misinformation” and “sensational” falsehoods regarding the eligibility of biological males in the pageant.
The letter, written by attorney Stuart J. Moskovitz, follows a public warning from Uthmeier that suggested the organization was violating consumer protection laws. Moskovitz demanded an immediate retraction, stating that the Attorney General’s claims—specifically that Miss North Florida winner Kayleigh Bush had her title stripped—are categorically false.
“Such careful research would have avoided your publicly dispensing misinformation that is defamatory to the organization,” Moskovitz wrote. “Ms. Bush never had her title stricken. That is a false statement.”
The legal dispute centers on a contract dispute with Bush, who refused to sign a standard delegate agreement required for the Miss Florida competition. While Uthmeier characterized the contract as a “bait-and-switch” that allowed biological males to compete, Moskovitz clarified that the language was actually intended to ensure that only biological women with two X chromosomes are eligible.
RELATED: Florida Attorney General Accuses Miss America Of “Bait-and-Switch” Over Male Contestants
According to the Miss America legal team, the contested language was designed to address rare medical circumstances where a biological female might be born with “unmatched genitalia.” Moskovitz argued that without such language, the organization could not effectively prevent individuals with male biological traits from entering.
“Miss America has the absolute right to prevent that from happening,” Moskovitz stated, adding that the organization has already updated its contracts to explicitly clarify that a contestant is considered a woman “only if born with two X chromosomes.”
The response also took aim at the political nature of the allegations, noting that the issue has been circulating for nearly a year through the Liberty Counsel. Moskovitz accused the Attorney General of furthering a “desire for publicity” by forwarding his initial letter to the press before seeking a response from the organization.
Addressing the claims of misrepresentation, Moskovitz noted that Miss America did not control the “feeder” competition Bush initially entered. He emphasized that all contestants must sign the same uniform contract to ensure fairness, and that making an exception for one individual would be “impossibly cumbersome.”
The letter concluded by citing federal case law that provides a First Amendment right for competition organizers to set their own terms of participation, asserting that this right “overrides any state law.”
“In that you have unfairly maligned Miss America by deliberately publicizing your attack before learning the truth from us, I would ask that you do what is required in all defamation cases, send out a retraction of equal weight and distribution,” Moskovitz wrote.
The Florida Attorney General’s office has not yet commented on the demand for a retraction.
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