Former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse is taking her battle with pageant officials to court after being stripped of her crown weeks before the national competition. The 27-year-old has filed a defamation lawsuit accusing A-Blaize Productions and Miss USA president Thom Brodeur of promoting a damaging public narrative about her while allegedly concealing the real reason behind her removal.
Boltinhouse claims her conservative Christian beliefs motivated the decision. Pageant officials have denied that allegation and maintain that her title was revoked following a broader review of her past conduct and public content.
Boltinhouse filed the lawsuit on Sunday, one day before Miss USA festivities began in Miami, Florida. Her lawyers accuse the defendants of “maliciously coordinating to publish a false public narrative portraying [her] as a racist, homophobe, and intolerable bigot to be shunned from public life,” according to the complaint obtained by the New York Post.
She was crowned Miss North Carolina USA on June 28 but lost the title on August 5, approximately five weeks into her reign. The controversy erupted after social media posts from 2017 through 2019 resurfaced. The posts reportedly included Boltinhouse using a racial slur. However, her lawsuit claims those posts were weaponized against her only after she won the state title.
“Nearly a decade later… when Brittany’s immigrant inspired work ethic was propelling her to the American dream, [the pageant organizers] would conspire to use these innocuous posts and their self-evident ubiquitous use of the popular slang term ‘n-gga’ to falsely smear Brittany as a racist, homophobe, transphobe, and bigot,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint then alleges, “[Pageant organizers] hid from the public the real reason they dethroned Brittany: she is a conservative Christian.”
Former Pageant Queen Points To Her Political Beliefs
Boltinhouse has previously claimed her political and religious views played a role in the pageant’s decision. The former titleholder attended President Donald Trump’s speech at the National Mall on January 6, 2021. She has also publicly supported Andrew and Tristan Tate, criticized former President Joe Biden’s 2024 Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation and encouraged her followers to vote for Trump before the 2024 presidential election.
Her attorneys claim pageant officials used those beliefs to “falsely portray and defame her … as a racist, homophobe, transphobe, and a bigot who should be shunned from public life.”
Boltinhouse is not challenging the organization’s authority to take away her crown, according to PEOPLE Magazine. Instead, her case focuses on the public statements released after she was dethroned and the damage she claims those remarks caused to her reputation and professional opportunities.
Her complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
Lawsuit Claims She Was Pressured To Approve An Apology
The lawsuit also accuses pageant organizers of attempting to secure Boltinhouse’s approval for a prepared statement addressing her past. “Over the past several days, I have been forced to confront parts of my past that I am not proud of,” the proposed statement read. “That has included a fight from my teenage years and social media posts I made as a young adult. Those words and actions were mine, and I take full responsibility for them.”
It continued, “I do not seek to minimize them or make excuses for them. To those who were hurt or disappointed by my past words or actions, I offer my sincere apology. This experience has been painful, but it has also been humbling.”
Boltinhouse allegedly refused to endorse the statement. Her attorneys characterize it as an effort to obtain a false confession, while the pageant has not publicly addressed that specific claim.
Recorded conversations cited in the lawsuit allegedly show state pageant officials telling Boltinhouse that her removal was based on several issues rather than one incident. “Brittany, you are being dethroned, or you have been dethroned because of the totality of every single thing altogether,” co-director Nic Blaize allegedly said during an August 5 call.
When questioned about the public announcement, Blaize reportedly said the directive came from the national organization. “The national office told us to make a statement,” Blaize said. “They told us too that we had to make a statement.”
Pageant Producers Deny Political Motivation
A-Blaize Productions previously denied that Boltinhouse’s politics or faith influenced its decision. “A Blaize Productions’ decision was not based on Brittany Boltinhouse’s political views, religious beliefs, or protected personal viewpoints. Our organization includes people from various backgrounds, political views, personal beliefs and values. We welcome and celebrate that,” a spokesperson said.
“The decision followed a careful review of the totality of information that came to our attention, including previously undisclosed conduct and public content spanning multiple years that was inconsistent with the standards and responsibilities expected of a Miss North Carolina USA titleholder under the agreements governing the position,” they added.
When Boltinhouse was removed, pageant officials said the decision followed a review of recently surfaced information and consultations with the Miss USA Organization.
Brodeur also said at the time that Miss USA “does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity.”
The organization did not publicly identify specific examples of homophobic or transphobic conduct in its initial announcement.
Myla Hadley Takes Over The Crown
First runner-up Myla Hadley assumed the Miss North Carolina USA title after Boltinhouse was removed and will represent the state at the national pageant.
A-Blaize Productions had not publicly responded to the newly filed lawsuit at the time of the original report.
