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- After she was crowned Miss Teen USA in 2024, Addie Carver was supposed to win a $10,000 scholarship.A lawsuit from Miss Universe said Carver was never paid by Laylah Rose, Miss USA's CEO at the time.Miss USA, now owned by Thom Brodeur, said it paid Carver the prize she was promised.
The Miss USA Organization appears to be rectifying some of the wrongs left by previous ownership. The latest example is that the pageant recently paid Miss Teen USA 2024's promised scholarship money, a year after she was supposed to receive it.
Addie Carver, the pageant queen who won in August 2024, hadn't publicly shared much about what happened behind the scenes at Miss USA amid its ongoing leadership turmoil.
Still, in a video that played before she took her final walk as Miss Teen USA on October 23, she said there had been "ups and downs" during her reign.
A new lawsuit alleges that former Miss USA CEO Laylah Rose, who ran the pageant in 2023 and 2024, failed to distribute a number of prizes to the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA winners, including Carver.
Rose's company, VVV Global Ent., denied the allegation in a countersuit.
The Miss USA Organization told Business Insider that it paid Carver her $10,000 scholarship prize in September 2025. Business Insider obtained screenshots of the Venmo and Zelle payments to Carver and her mother from the new Miss USA team.
Carver told Business Insider she "wasn't sure of the details" of the ongoing lawsuit before adding that "this new leadership has taken care of me a lot — way more than I've had in the past year."
"In the past few months that they've been with me, they've really amplified my experience," she said. "It really did make my year 10 times better."
A new lawsuit
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On October 3, JKN Universe — which owns the Miss Universe Organization and oversees Miss USA and Miss Teen USA — filed a lawsuit against Rose's company, VVV, describing it as a one-person operation. The complaint accuses VVV of creating a "toxic work environment" and failing to pay Miss USA 2024 Alma Cooper's $100,000 salary and scholarship money owed to Carver and Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava. Srivastava and Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt both stepped down in May 2024 due to Rose's leadership.
Srivastava, who declined to comment on the new lawsuit, told Business Insider in August that she "never saw that $15,000 in scholarship money" that was part of her prize package.
Carver never publicly shared whether she had been paid, but after her agent began making requests to Rose for the scholarship money in February, JKN said it became aware that Carver still had not received her prize.
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In a countersuit filed on October 20, VVV denied that it had failed to pay the scholarship money owed to Srivastava or Carver and said that Cooper did not receive the $100,000 Miss USA salary because she was an active member of the US Army.
"VVV avers that it met with Army officials about this issue, and the Army would not permit Ms. Cooper, as an active service member, to accept an outside salary. Accordingly, VVV admits Ms. Cooper received no salary," the countersuit said.
Business Insider obtained a copy of the October 2024 agreement between the US Army Recruiting Command and Miss USA detailing the roles and responsibilities of both organizations during Cooper's reign. The document, which appears to be signed by Rose, states that Cooper could receive compensation from Miss USA "on an hourly basis" for participation in events that were approved by the Army and organized by the Miss USA Organization. The agreement also notes that Cooper's ability to accept a titleholder's salary or apartment from Miss USA was subject to the Army's approval.
Christina Bhatti, the US Army Recruiting Division's public affairs director, confirmed to Business Insider that US soldiers are "permitted to engage in employment outside of the Army with command approval." She added that any payments for Cooper's work supporting Miss USA were the responsibility of the Miss USA Organization.
Rose did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The next era
Reza Venegas
When Thom Brodeur took over as the new CEO and president of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, he revamped the pageants' prize packages along with other changes. The new prize package for the Miss Teen USA winner includes a feature in Teen Vogue, $25,000 in cash, and a four-year scholarship at Mississippi State University — where Carver is a freshman — if they choose to accept it.
"I'm a little bit jealous I'm not gonna get to have all of that myself," Carver told Business Insider with a laugh. "But I'm so excited for our new winner. She's going to do an amazing job."
Carver may be packing up her crown and sash, but she said the new Miss USA team has reminded her of why she competes — to pay it forward.
"I really was trying to keep the faith in myself and hopefully keep inspiring young girls to still compete," she said. "They definitely gave me hope, and I think a lot of other people hope too."
