Big Brother Winner Taylor Hale Says Ex-Miss USA VP Sexually Harassed Her, Sent Flirty Texts
"Big Brother" Season 24 champion Taylor Hale has accused former Miss USA vice president Max Sebrechts of sexually harassing her during the 2021 Miss USA pageant.
"He DMs me on Instagram and says, you did a good job, so proud of you. He invites me to the presidential suite. I decline," the former beauty queen-turned-reality star recalled on an episode of the "Reality Steve" podcast.
Hale, who was Miss Michigan last year, said she later ran into Sebrechts, 42, in a hotel lobby while she was carrying her stage costume, which she described as "big and heavy." The 27-year-old former beauty pageant titleholder said Sebrechts offered to help carry her costume to her room, which she agreed.
"There was a protocol in place where if you were being escorted to your room, the person who was escorting you would stop at the elevator bank and watch you go down the hallway to your room," she said. "He did not stop at the elevator bank, he continued to go into the room. He placed the costume in the room in the entry corridor and then he walked all the way in and proceeded to sit down, have a conversation with me."
Hale, who was the first black "Big Brother" champion, said she initially did not think of Sebrecht's actions as "threatening," but she was "definitely uncomfortable like he should not have been lingering."
"And then when he stood up he gave me some very sexually intimate types of hugs like they were very intimate, pretty sexual," she revealed. "He's whispering in my ear telling me you know, I'm so beautiful, so gorgeous. He kisses the corner of my mouth trying to play it off like it's my cheek and I just, I'm just frozen. I'm not doing anything but he's clearly waiting for me to make the next move. He does this twice and then finally I get him to leave the room."
At least four women received inappropriate messages from
Sebrechts allegedly sent inappropriate messages to multiple contestants. A source told New York Post that there were "over eight" women who had been "hit on" by the former Miss USA VP since 2008.
Following the accusations, the Miss Universe Organization - which oversees the Miss USA pageant, removed Sebrechts from his position in January.
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