She comprehends the sensation of being observed but not listened to.
Previous Miss New York, Thatiana Diaz, aged 31, isn't taken aback by the disintegration of the Miss USA establishment.
"This was inevitable," she exclusively disclosed to The Post on Thursday.
"You encounter all these assorted personalities and myriad influences directing and manipulating you," Diaz supplemented. "That genuinely impacts your mental well-being."
Her primary declaration: "Beneath these crowns, there exist human beings."
Diaz's remarks mirror Monday's startling declaration by Miss USA, Noelia Voigt, relinquishing her title after seven months, citing mental health obstacles — marking her as the first titleholder in the pageant's 72-year history to voluntarily step down.
Concerned followers on Instagram flagged that the initial letter in each of Voigt's sentences spelled out a message: "I AM SILENCED." Allegedly, it was intentional.
Shortly after, 17-year-old Miss Teen USA, UmaSofia Srivastava — previously Miss New Jersey Teen USA — also resigned, stating her personal principles "no longer entirely align with the organization's direction."
Now, Diaz, crowned Miss New York in 2015, has resurfaced in the pageant sphere to address challenges she faced, some paralleling those of Voigt and Srivastava.
Diaz's tenure in pageantry and her year as Miss New York solidified profound issues with her body and public image — along with others' perceptions of her — that took years to surmount.
"You're subject to scrutiny and judgment from so many people. It's not just the judges on that day," she conveyed to The Post. "I wasn't prepared for all of that."
Allegations of bullying and harassment within the Miss USA organization — its current President and CEO, fashion designer Laylah Rose, assumed control amidst another scandal in 2023 — have unsettled the franchise.
They've also shocked the public — but not Diaz.
The Dominican American beauty queen felt tokenized and misrepresented.
"I felt there was so much more to me, and they were trying to market me as this, like, fiery Latina," she stated, recounting how organizers urged her to don red to "embrace the Latina" within her and "fabricate a trauma-filled narrative."
"I wasn't comfortable with that," asserted Diaz. "I did feel essentially bullied."
Diaz entered her inaugural pageant at 16 years old as her parents encouraged her to partake in extracurricular activities fostering interpersonal skills and advocacy.
Diaz, who clinched the Miss Teen New York title in 2010 before seizing the state title five years later, attributes her time in pageantry to forging enduring friendships with fellow contestants — some of whom stood beside her on her wedding day in 2022 — and honing the eloquence she employs in her journalism career.
However, it wasn't all glamorous.
Diaz noted that voicing concerns only exacerbated matters, alleging she'd be branded as ungrateful and undeserving of the coveted title.
Though she believes "it's always been like this," Diaz perceives the situation worsening as "the pageant system shifts its focus to commerce and strictly business."
But that commerce is crumbling.
"Regrettably, I foresee pageantry's demise," she conceded.
The Miss Universe organization was acquired by trans Thai magnate Anne Jakkaphong's JKN Global Group in 2022. In October 2023, the new proprietor filed for bankruptcy.
Diaz divulged that former beauty queens she knows dissuade their children from entering the community, and prospective contestants instead learn to cultivate their platforms — a primary allure of pageants — on social media.
"They now acknowledge that pageantry isn't the sole pathway, and it's a pathway that's profoundly restrictive," she remarked. "It's always been like this. It's merely becoming more evident because women are finding the strength to advocate for themselves."
Although Diaz is disheartened to witness little change since her coronation a decade ago, she harbors hope that the virtues of pageantry and the Miss USA organization will endure if reforms — such as allowing women to authentically express themselves and tapping into former contestants' insights — are enacted.
"I believe this could be a pivotal moment in pageantry, a turning point where pageantry can opt for the right path — or the wrong one," she posited.
