Woman wins US beauty pageant, then gets title stripped for racism. Now she plans to sue the organization: ‘my rights were violated’
She cited the First Amendment.
Brittany Boltinhouse took home the crown as the new Miss North Carolina USA back on June 28. But not long into her reign, the beauty queen was stripped of her title amid allegations of racism tied to her past social media posts. Now, the dethroned beauty queen is seeking to sue the pageant organizers on claims that her “rights were violated.”
Boltinhouse was initially slated to compete at the Miss USA pageant this coming August 27. However, pageant organizers claimed that “recently surfaced information” regarding Boltinhouse prompted them to revoke her title on August 5 and pass it over to the runner-up, Myla Hadley, after careful review.
The organization didn’t specify which information resulted in Boltinhouse’s removal. But a screenshot showing posts from an account under the name “Sosa the Stallion”—believed to be Boltinhouse’s—allegedly mentioning the N-word between 2017 and 2019 circulated on X.
Pageant queen believes her title was removed due to her beliefs
Boltinhouse had finally addressed the scandal and claimed that she isn’t apologetic for her past posts and words, per the Daily Mail. The former Miss North Carolina USA is reportedly preparing to challenge the organization over the revoked crown in a lawsuit.
According to Boltinhouse, her title wasn’t removed simply because of her saying a racial slur, and she claimed that it was due to her Christian belief and political views instead. “I’m not going to deny them or run from them. But they did not take my crown because of those posts,” said Boltinhouse.
Boltinhouse, who claimed she was a God-fearing and proud conservative woman, said she planned to “stand up for myself” after her “rights were violated.” Boltinhouse alleges that the organization had created a narrative of her and hoped to make clear her stance with the upcoming lawsuit.
Miss USA’s CEO, Thom Brodeur, said in their initial statement that the organization “does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity.” In recent years, the organization had been striving to make inclusive changes, such as allowing married women to compete. Their decision was made after reviewing conduct over an extended period of time. While Boltinhouse had supposedly apologized to the organizers, the beauty queen said she had no regrets over her past actions.
Former Miss North Carolina USA alleges she has proof
Reportedly, Boltinhouse will be represented by North Carolina attorney Patrick Mincey, who claimed her character had been smeared throughout this incident. “She’s been called a racist, a homophobe, a transphobe. Those are false slanders and slurs,” the lawyer said. When asked about Boltinhouse’s alleged use of the N-word in the past, Mincey claimed that her posts weren’t racist or evidence of racism.
Boltinhouse and her legal team allege that she has audio recordings to support her claims of being removed by the organization for her conservative views and that they will release them in due time. “The apology is owed to her, and the audio recordings are going to support that,” said Mincey.
The North Carolina beauty queen also cited the First Amendment as the violated right: “It felt like I was not able to be an American. It’s a constitutional right, it’s your First Amendment right to express yourself, and I feel like I was ripped of that as a proud American.”
In response, the license holder and producer for North Carolina’s Miss USA pageants Blaize Productions, denied Boltinhouse’s claims that she was removed for her religious and political beliefs. “Contestants and titleholders are not prohibited from holding or expressing personal political or religious beliefs,” the company reportedly said.
Blaize Productions said in its statement that the behavior and responsibilities involved in representing the Miss North Carolina USA title were outlined and established in their agreements beforehand. The company, organization, and Boltinhouse reportedly had an extensive discussion about the information and materials found and determined that it wasn’t in line with the standards associated with the title—leading to the dethronement.
According to Blaize Productions, Boltinhouse was repeatedly informed of concerns regarding her conduct that ultimately led to her removal. “We stand by the process that was followed, the reasons communicated to Ms Boltinhouse, and the decision that was made,” the company said.
Boltinhouse claimed she was “at peace” and was glad the situation involved her, instead of someone who might not be as mentally resilient as she is. “I will take the highest measures to make sure this doesn’t happen to somebody else. Someone more vulnerable or younger than me. Someone who doesn’t know what to do,” said Boltinhouse.
Boltinhouse alleges that she didn’t want the pageant title back, but hoped to bring “justice” to what she claimed was unfair treatment by an organization—and highlight her advocacies as a conservative Christian woman. “I think the eight months of my life spent preparing for that pageant were for something. The truth will come out,” Boltinhouse concluded.
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