News
‘Miss America’ Rebrands In The #MeToo Era: Eliminates Swimsuit Competition & Wants To Be More “Inclusive”
The 97-year-old ‘Miss America’ pageant has made major changes, which will be seen on the upcoming September 9th broadcast of the competition on ABC. Gretchen Carlson, the current chairwoman of the organization, and the 1989 Miss America winner, and former news anchor, revealed the changes for ‘Miss America’ in the #MeToo era on Tuesday’s episode of Good Morning America.
The biggest being that the swimsuit competition has been axed. As well, according to Carlson, “We are no longer a pageant; we are a competition. We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance.” Instead of the swimsuit t competition, the contestants will take part in a “live interactive session with the judges” that will demonstrate their passion, intelligence, and overall understanding of the role of Miss America.
In addition, the evening gown competition will be revamped, where now women can wear an outfit of their choice. Something that makes them feel confident and expresses their personal style. The former Fox News anchor said, “It’s gonna be what comes out of their mouth that we’re interested in.“

Photo Credit: Getty Images
How this all came to pass: The Miss America Organization board of directors called upon former contestants to help recruit new leadership, after there was a scandal involving derogatory comments made against former contestants about their weight and looks.
Carlson also said, “We are now open, inclusive and transparent” and she wants to “inspire thousands of young people across this country to come and be a part of our program, because we want you, and we want to celebrate your accomplishments and your talents and then we want to hand you scholarships.”
As you know, Carlson settled a reported twenty-million dollar lawsuit against former Fox News chairman and CEO, Roger Ailes, after she accused him of sexual harassment. Thousands of women, according to Carlson, have been inspired to know they can stand up and speak and their voices will be heard since 22 months ago when she revealed her harassment by her employer.
Glad the swimsuits are gone from the ‘Miss America’ competition? Glad to know that the talent portion and what the contestants have to say about themselves and the issues of our time are most important, or are those staples also so dated? Do you think more young women will enter the program of different sizes, colors, and backgrounds, then the cookie-cutter look the old pageant-version has had for almost 10 decades? Do you think this is a positive step forward for young women to win scholarship money based on much more than their looks,? Comment below.
What does wearing a swimsuit have to do with the Me2 movement…i could care less if they remove that part or not…but whats it got to do with Me2…fully clothed women and even some men have been sexually harassed…why dont movies and some cable shows stop parading women in their all instead!!!
I’m glad! I cannot take the metoo movement too serious if we are trying to curtail sexual harassment in this country only to have women putting their assets out there on display! Take cover and show your intellectual talents. THATS sexy!
I am not too impress- these will still be beautiful physically fit young ladies competing — no matter how intelligent they are, they will be judged even unconsciously for their looks. I say when an brilliant 82 year old woman who is slightly overweight with facial hair and no teeth “wins” the competition” then the show has evolved.
As for eliminating the swimsuit competition, I think it will hurt ratings when shows like Victoria Secret Fashion Show and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue are highly consumed by the American public–no one tunes into these “competition” shows to see how smart these women are– so it is damn if you do and damn if you don’t–eventually these “competition” will go the way of the dinosaur –but all social change takes time and this is very small step toward that direction.
Can’t wait to watch them walk around in trench coats and try to put two words together. Gretchen Carlson is nothing but a air head isn’t she the fat leg one that wore the short skirts on camera with everything showing and then cried that she was being sexually harassed ? She received how many million from the law suit? Please ! Do away with it no one watches this stuff anymore.
It is a beauty pageant for gosh sakes not a IQ test please stop with I am woman hear me roar you sound stupid!
Amen, k/kay!!!!! I see this desperately grasping woman is still carrying that #MeToo chip on her shoulder despite making out like a bandit over her sexual harassment allegations which only miraculously surfaced when she discovered her contract with Fox had failed to be renewed. Now she’s spreading her feminist venom to the very Miss America organization which launched her so-so media presence in the first place! Rather ironic…as if parading around in a tasteful swimsuit is a big deal for an attractive woman, especially when you sadly see far more revealing stuff on the street each and every day!!! There is no such thing as personal modesty anymore…Additionally, nobody forced any of these femmes to take part in this pageant, hence if modeling certain fashions came as part of the bargain, so be it! Worked for decades on end and a lot of woman laughed all the way to the bank and on to successful careers because of such “exposure!”
Why is failed FAUX Noize host Gretchen Carlson trying to ruin the Miss America pageant? Is she still on the Cheeto payroll? (he still has a financial interest in the competing Miss Universe franchise as far as I know)
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
General Hospital
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
View this post on Instagram
Breaking News
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
-

News2 days agoY&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
-

Previews4 days agoTHE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
-
General Hospital3 days ago‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
-

Days Of Our Lives4 days ago‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
-

Days Of Our Lives7 days ago‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
-

General Hospital6 days agoGENERAL HOSPITAL: Tracy Leaves Port Charles to Help Dillon; Paving the Way for Jane Elliot’s Temporary Exit
-
News6 days agoB&B’s Lawrence Saint-Victor to Guest Star on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
-
Days Of Our Lives1 week agoRaven Bowens Breaks Silence About Being Fired From ‘Days of our Lives’ and Her Future Plans












