Justin Sylvester will host the 2023 Miss Teen USA pageant. The event, which is returning for its 41st year, is taking place on Sept. 29 in Reno, Nevada.
“I can’t even believe I am worthy to host this event, but I am so grateful they wanted me to do this,” Sylvester told WWD. “It has been a dream of mine to be part of such an institution and I can’t wait to really make these hosting duties my own.”
Sylvester is best known to audiences as a cohost of “E! News” and he also does a weekly segment on “Today With Hoda and Jenna,” where he catches up with the hosts on the biggest pop culture moments of the week.
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Prior to being offered the opportunity to host Miss Teen USA, Sylvester was familiar with the pageant world due to his friendship with Miss USA 1996 winner Ali Landry. Sylvester says he owes many of his career opportunities to Landry’s connections in the entertainment industry. “In a way, it was the pageant world that got me started as an entertainment host,” he said.
The judges for the Miss Teen USA pageant will be actress, producer and entrepreneur Emily Shah; founder of Kopu Water Mindy Mahy; the first Miss Teen USA Ruth Zakarian; entrepreneur and television personality, and Stand Up Comedian Katie Cazorla; and model and content creator Tabitha Swatosh with Chris Persky and current Miss Teen USA Faron Medhi serving as commentators.
Miss Teen USA will be available to stream on The CW App and cwtv.com on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. PST.
Miss USA Organization president, fashion designer Laylah Rose, worked hard to secure a network affiliation for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA this year, she said.
“These teens work so hard for their community, make an impact and create ways to break glass ceilings that,” Rose said. “My first order of business when I became president was to partner with a network to help this pageant reach a wider audience.”
Rose, who is working to revamp the pageants, also oversaw a rule change where the interview portion is now 50 percent of contestants’ overall score versus 33 percent, as she wanted to leave more time and weight for contestants to talk about their philanthropic causes and use their platforms to promote the work they do in their communities.
“My goal is elevate and highlight the Miss Teen USA contestants as individuals,” she said. “They are both role models for their generation and role models for adults as well. They all have a passion project, and these young women are our future. We are looking for someone who is juggling school, philanthropy and also loves fashion.”
In the past, Miss Teen USA contestants all wore the same opening look for the first round of the event, but under Rose’s leadership, the contestants are now allowed individual gowns although all by the same designer. “I want the Miss Teen USA contestants to feel like individuals,” she said. “I want personal style highlighted.”
On Wednesday, Miss USA announced Keltie Knight and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton as the hosts of their event. Miss USA will air on The CW on Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. EST.