Miss Hawaii crowned Miss USA today

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Noelia Voight cried when she was crowned the most beautiful in competition in 2023.

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Miss USA Noelia Voight was silenced and quit.

Today (Wednesday, May 15, 2024), Miss Hawaii Savannah Gankiewicz was crowned the new Miss USA.

Gankiewicz took over as beauty queen after former Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt announced she was resigning on May 6, 2024.

Gankiewicz is a model and entrepreneur, and she is opening a boutique hotel in Bali in 2025.

Noelia Voigt was crowned Miss USA in Sept. 2023 in a moment full of celebratory tears and confetti, but on May 6, Voigt stepped down, citing [that she was being silenced, which is being called an issue of] her mental health and spearheading a slew of high-profile resignations within the Miss USA organization.

On May 9, the organization announced Miss Hawaii Savannah Gankiewicz will be taking over as Miss USA for the remainder of Voigt's tenure.

Miss USA Savannah G.

Gankiewicz, 28, will be crowned in a ceremony in Hawaii on today, marking the official start of her reign.

• Gankiewicz was the first runner-up in the 2023 Miss USA pageant, and she won the costume contest.
• Gankiewicz competed in the Miss USA pageant after being crowned Miss Hawaii in January 2023.
• She was first runner-up in the competition, coming in just behind Voigt.
• She also won best interview in the pageant and best costume in the state costume contest.
• Beauty Queen Voight quits her 'Miss USA' crown

Banyan Tree Girl

Savannah "Banyan Tree Girl" Gankiewicz of Hawaii (© courtesy of Miss USA).

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I am a burning hot Maui banyan tree.

For her costume, Gankiewicz wore a sparkly jumpsuit to honor a 150-year-old banyan tree that was burned during last year's [very suspicious] Maui wildfires.

A headpiece covered in greenery attached to the ensemble, and swaths of yellow fabric and handpieces designed to look like flames made her look like moving fire.

"This experience has enabled me to have a newfound appreciation and respect for the competition, as I've firsthand been through a transformative journey and experienced amazing growth," Gankiewicz wrote on Instagram of her experience in the pageant.

"I cannot wait to embark on my next journey as I close this chapter."

The Miss Hawaii winner took over as Miss USA after Noelia Voigt resigned as queen

Voigt announced her resignation via Instagram [where she encoded her message "I AM SILENCED"], pointing to her [cover story of] mental health as the reason she was stepping back.

• Meet Miss USA: Noelia Voigt will compete at Miss Universe on Saturday.
• Voigt, who began competing in pageants at 16, won Miss USA while representing Utah.
• The new Miss Universe will be crowned by R'Bonney Gabriel, the ninth American to win the pageant.
• Voigt, 24, is a seasoned pageant queen who began competing when she was 16. But her road to Miss USA wasn't an easy one. Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt had hopes of becoming the 10th American woman to win Miss Universe.

More: Meet Miss Hawaii Savannah Gankiewicz, crowned Miss USA following Noelia Voigt's resignation (Business Insider via MSN)

• We didn't know these 20 facts about early human life
• Business Insider via MSN.com, May 15, 2024; Crystal Q., Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly