ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Bye bye, bikini.

  • Miss America Organization dropping swimsuit competition
  • Event will feature changes to evening wear portion
  • Organization was rocked by email scandal in December

That's the message from the Miss America Organization, which said Tuesday that it's dropping the swimsuit competition from its nationally televised pageant.

Gretchen Carlson, a former Miss America who is chairwoman of the organization's board of trustees, made the announcement Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." She also doesn't want to call it a "pageant" anymore but a competition.

Changes will be made to the competition's evening wear part of the competition, and contestants won't be judged on their attire, the organization said.

The organization is now being led by an all-female staff for the first time. Top leadership was revamped when in December, emails emerged from the former chairman that showed him using derogatory language about past Miss America winners.

Miss America has been a top trend on the internet for most of the day. A former Miss Texas, Kendall Morris, wrote: "In a world where obesity rates continue to climb, I do see the benefits to the fitness competition because it taught me a lifelong discipline beyond the Miss America stage."

The swimsuit portion will be dropped starting with this year's broadcast on Sept. 9.