Miss America 2020's New Format Draws Criticism on Twitter, Described as 'Cheap' and 'Trash'

In response to both evolving times and declining ratings, The Miss America pageant shifted formats for its 2020 outing—but those changes have hit a sour note with some viewers.

The new format removes the evening gown and swimsuit competitions. In place of those events, a "televised job interview" was added. In addition, the pageant now is reminiscent of a reality show competition, involving the judges eliminating the contestants as they stand onstage.

"This feels like the most cheap, homemade, low-budget mess and these women deserve better," observed Stephanie T. Castro.

"So instead of swimsuit, they decided to humiliate the semi-finalists by telling them why they aren't finalists???" said @charharreveld.

"Miss America 2.0 is trash. This is a train wreck, crashed into a dumpster and caught on fire. But just like every disaster, I can't look away. It can't get worse, but I refuse to change the channel and risk missing it go down in flames," noted Kate Gatsby.

Many viewers disliked the way the eliminations were handled, with judges having the contestants line up and either tricking them into thinking they'd be eliminated via negative talk or convincing them they'd been saved until a last-minute swerve informed them of their elimination. The to-their-faces critiques were especially unpopular with viewers.

"Again??? Lining up these women who have worked their entire lives and eliminating one by one down the row? Faking them out by sounding negative at first only to be like sike! youre going through?! This is gross," said Twitter user @cmillllllll.

"Miss America 2.0 is basically a more boring version of America's Got Talent, but everyone has to also scream their resume and solve all the world's social issues during a 2-minute interview," summed up Abigail Stricklin.

"This new #MissAmerica format however, did not make us proud. I'm sorry, but this attempt to turn it into American Idol is just cheesy and came across as desperate," said Mike Dubberly, a Good Day Alabama anchor, adding a gif of Bart Simpson from The Simpsons throwing a cake that read "At least you tried" into the trash.

The final question Miss Georgia and Miss Virginia were subjected to was particularly rankling for the audience, as they were asked "why or why not" women who are married should be allowed in the competition, leaving them to defend or protest the pageant's own rule system.

"You know what's not empowering? Making two young women debate the expectations of your organization on LIVE TELEVISION. Do better,
@MissAmerica." said Sara Yelich Miller.