ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—The reigning Miss America says she has been bullied, manipulated and silenced by the pageant’s current leadership including chairwoman Gretchen Carlson.

In a letter sent Friday to former Miss Americas, Cara Mund says she decided to speak out despite the risk of punishment.

Her letter exponentially increased the turmoil surrounding the pageant three weeks before the next Miss America is to be crowned in Atlantic City.

Mund said she’s been left out of interviews, not invited to meetings and called the wrong name.

This year’s competition will not include swimsuits, and pageant officials from at least 19 states have called for the current leadership to resign.

There was no immediate response from The Miss America Organization or from Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper, who were singled out in Mund’s letter.