Bess Myerson: Miss America on Trial
5/4/20261 hr 1 min
Bess Myerson rose to fame as the first - and still only - Jewish Miss America, antisemitism on the pageant circuit. She parlayed this visibility into a successful television career, then made the leap into New York City politics in the 1970s. But in the 1980s, her carefully built reputation began to unravel in a sensational scandal involving her married boyfriend, his divorce judge, and allegations of bribery. The saga was splashed across headlines as the “Bess Mess” – and threatened to eclipse her trailblazing legacy.
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First 90 secondsSarah Hagi· Host0:00
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Scaachi Koul· Host0:08
A note for our listeners, this episode describes incidents of domestic violence. Listen with care. [upbeat music] Sarah, have you ever entered a beauty contest by chance? Like, were you ever competing to be Little Miss Ottawa?
Sarah Hagi· Host0:27
Oh, of course not. I was a weird looking kid. [laughs] [laughs] No. No, no, no.
Scaachi Koul· Host0:33
Huh.
Sarah Hagi· Host0:33
And, and no. There's no universe where that would've happened in my life. Why? Would you?
Scaachi Koul· Host0:38
No. I mean, my dad was, like, one of those very particular male feminists in the '90s, so it was very important that I be smart above being pretty, so I would never be entered in a contest, like, rooted in my cuteness.
Sarah Hagi· Host0:53
I also was weird looking.
Scaachi Koul· Host0:55
But look at you now. Smart.
Sarah Hagi· Host0:57
Look at us.
Scaachi Koul· Host0:58
Beautiful.
Sarah Hagi· Host0:59
Aw.
Scaachi Koul· Host0:59
You can win Miss Podcast.
Sarah Hagi· Host1:01
Ah. That should be an award, and they should give it to me.
Scaachi Koul· Host1:03
Yes. All right. Well, Sarah, we have a really good one this week. It's all about one of America's most famous beauty queens and how close she was to losing everything.
Bess Myerson· Soundbite1:13
[upbeat music] Free audio post-production by auphonic.com.
Speaker 31:22
Confidence. It's listening to your gut. It's moving forward even when the path ahead is unclear. For