Laura Marano and Gabby Douglas were just added to the panel of judges for the 2017 Miss America Competition!
The 20-year-old actress and 20-year-old Olympic gymnast will sit alongside entrepreneur Mark Cuban, actress Sara Foster, singer-songwriter Cole Swindell, and former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes.
“Miss America has been such an amazing event for so many years and I am excited to have the opportunity to judge the competition this year,” Gabby said. “The contestants are a great example of strong women across America and I especially look forward to hearing the platforms that each of them will represent!”
The 2017 Miss America Competition is set to air live from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on Sunday, September 11 @ 9PM on ABC.
The two USA Gymanstics teams come together for a giant group photo during the Order of Ikkos Ceremony at the USA House at Colego Sao Paulo on Wednesday (August 17) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The two Olympians have been flirting non-stop since the start of the games.
“Hey @zacefron I saw her first… She is my girl,” Arthur wrote with the pic he re-posted from Simone, adding, “Proud of you Simone! You are phenomal in whole world and special. You made history. Love u.”
The team open up about their lives, their Olympic training and how they feel now that they’re gold medalists. Pick up a copy on news stands, Friday, August 19th!
Simone is also pictured performing at the Gymnastics Rio Gala during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics on Wednesday (August 17).
Zac Efron flashes a peace sign while making an appearance on the Today show on Wednesday (August 17) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 28-year-old actor was stopping by the show to talk about meeting Simone Biles and the rest of the women’s gymnastics team but also ended up meeting male gymnast Danell Leyva, who won silver on both parallel and horizontal bars.
Zac explained that beforehand he was “kind of getting nervous myself, but it ended up being so sweet”
“They won gold medals, they were crushing it the entire Olympics, and I was like hiding in a closet waiting to come in, so I didn’t know what to think,” Zac said, who could be seen tearing up during the medal ceremony before meeting the girls.
He added, “Their story just blew my mind. When I found out Simone and this team were fans, I was like, ‘What kind of guy am I if I don’t show up?’”
Watch the moment the women’s gymnastics team meet Zac below…
According to her mom Natalie, the 20-year-old gymnast and Final Five team member is being attacked online following the Team Finals, where they took home gold, last week.
“She’s had to deal with people criticizing her hair, or people accusing her of bleaching her skin. They said she had breast enhancements, they said she wasn’t smiling enough, she’s unpatriotic. Then it went to not supporting your team mates. Now you’re “Crabby Gabby”,” Natalie Hawkins said in an interview, via Reuters.
She added, “We’ve been brought to many tears because I don’t know what she’s done to warrant such an attack. To me it looks like she is being bullied…They keep attacking her about not smiling but they don’t know what she is dealing with. If they did, this would not be a conversation. They would (understand). But this is not the time or place to tell that story.”
Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis tweeted her support to Gabby after hearing of the news. Read it below:
????@gabrielledoug so much love & support coming your way from the US ?? Don't give a second thought to the haters – they don't know ????????
