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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 04: The Miss USA 2024 delegates pose onstage during the 73rd annual Miss USA Pageant at Peacock Theater on August 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
On June 28, Brittany Boltinhouse was crowned Miss North Carolina 2026, advancing her to compete in the Miss USA pageant in late August.
However, Boltinhouse has now been stripped of that title for undisclosed reasons after organiser A Blaize Productions made the “difficult decision” to “conclude Brittany Boltinhouse’s reign.”
In a separate statement, Miss USA President Thom Brodeur said that “The Miss USA organization does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity.”
Despite the statement, neither Miss USA nor A Blaize Productions has said what Boltinhouse did specifically to be stripped, and now her family is pushing back.
Brittany Boltinhouse’s Family Pushes Back Amid Miss North Carolina Controversy
Local outlet NC Beat reports that the former beauty queen, who lives in Wilmington, allegedly used the N-word multiple times and referred to herself as “toxic” in social media posts made under an alias between 2017 and 2019.
But Boltinhouse’s family says that things aren’t always as they seem.
“I think it’s important to put her truth out and have the proper narrative out versus a narrative that is saving the face [of] an organization,” a relative told the Daily Mail, marking the first public words from Boltinhouse’s camp since her sudden dethronement Wednesday.
“As you can imagine, there’s a lot we would like to say, but we are taking the time to be in prayer and unity and [will] respond in a manner [that] God calls us to,” the family member added.
With Boltinhouse officially stripped of the crown, the title instead goes to Miss North Carolina USA’s first runner-up, Myla Hadley.
Hadley, 24, will now represent the state at the Miss USA competition in Miami starting Aug. 24.