Miss America hopeful slams pageant's 'rule' keeping mothers from competing as organization denies claims

A mother hoping to compete in Miss America slammed the pageant's "rule" that prohibits women with "legal dependents" from participating.

"When I first learned about it, I just was really disappointed," Danielle Hazel told Fox News Digital. "And it was unexpected for me. I didn't really know that that was a rule. So, it was really shocking to find out."

Hazel filed a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights on Sept. 16, requesting the "discriminatory requirement" be removed.

The former beauty pageant hopeful noted that motherhood doesn't stop one from having a job, which is what winning the competition entails.

"So, if you're a mom, it's not an obstacle that's in the way," Hazel explained. "It shouldn't be an obstacle."

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At age 19, Hazel was not allowed to compete in Miss America because she had a son.

"When I told Zion, who is now 6 years old, about these rules, he had an immediate gut reaction. He said that these rules are stupid," Hazel said at a press conference. "His sense of fairness at only 6 years old tells him that this is unjust and makes no sense."

For Hazel, filing the complaint was a way to "make a difference."

"Sometimes it only takes one person," she told Fox News Digital. "I wanted to be able to at least have some kind of impact, even if it wasn't going to be successful. I wanted to at least show that I tried."

Hazel's complaint was received by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, according to her lawyer, Gloria Allred. The organization chose to serve the complaint to Miss America and Miss World, and Allred said action would be taken soon.

"On a societal level, I feel like there has been a lot of – I guess it is a stigma against moms but not all moms," Hazel said. "I mean, specifically, if you're a single mom, there's even a bigger stigma, because then there's this idea that somehow you're less than ... somehow you're not as worthy."

"Even though you are powerful, and you are capable, you're still kind of seen as your value is less. I don't understand that."

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A representative for Miss America said in a statement that the complaint brought by Hazel and Allred is "not factually accurate."

"There is no ban against mothers. The only ban is against potential contestants with legal dependents," the statement reads. "In other words, if you are responsible for the daily welfare of the child, that welfare must take precedence over wishing to compete in the contest. The rule has nothing to do with any attack on motherhood. It is solely to protect the welfare of minors dependent on their legal guardians."

"That legal guardian could be someone who is the child's mother, or it could be someone who has become the legal guardian of the child without being the mother," the representative wrote. "Someone who is a mother who has no responsibility for the child (for example, someone who gave up custody or the child for adoption, etc.) is not banned."

"Essentially, the complaint filed with the NYC Human Rights Commission is a false document filed with a government agency," the statement continued. "Paragraph 6 of the complaint, for example, is a stunningly false statement. Miss America stands apart from contests such as Miss World. There is no connection to them, and our standards are significantly different. Miss America is a more than century-old institution that observes the highest standards of conduct, ethics, etc. That puts us in conflict sometimes with those who do not share those standards. Protecting the welfare of children is consistent with those standards."

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Allred challenged a similar rule in California after a mother was denied eligibility to compete in the Miss California pageant. The pageant is part of the Miss Universe and Miss USA organizations.

After Andrea Quiroga filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, Miss Universe got rid of its 70-year-old rule.

Allred slammed the beauty pageant "rule" barring mothers from competing in a "business opportunity."

"Sometimes single moms, for example, have parents who will also take care of the children. Sometimes children are in child care. And mothers, yes, are generally the ones that are responsible, especially single moms," Allred told Fox News Digital "And they have the physical, emotional and often financial responsibility for children."

"And now to block them from a business opportunity, which is what these pageants are – as well as a social opportunity, economic opportunity – to exclude them simply because of an old stereotype that mothers have to be home with children is wrong."

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Allred also represents Veronika Didusenko, a woman who was crowned Miss Ukraine in 2018. She was later stripped of her title because she had a son.

"In 2018, I lost my victory in the Miss Ukraine pageant (which is part of Miss World) because I had a young son," she said in a statement at a press conference. "One of the judges at the Miss Ukraine pageant, Bohdan Yusypchuk, pointed at me live on air and said, 'She had a child at the age of 19 and then divorced. I think it's wrong to make such [a] person a role model.'"

Didusenko has since launched the #RightToBeAMother global initiative and has worked to fight the discrimination of young mothers within the beauty pageant industry.