Dethroned Miss North Carolina USA files defamation lawsuit against Miss USA pageant

Brittany Boltinhouse claims that the pageant maliciously smeared her as a “racist, homophobe, transphobe, and intolerable bigot” before stripping her of her title.

Key Points

• Brittany Boltinhouse has sued the Miss USA organization after being stripped of her Miss North Carolina USA 2026 title.

• Boltinhouse claims the organization falsely smeared her as a "racist, homophobe, transphobe, and intolerable bigot to be shunned from public life," then "sicced an online mob" on her.

• The 27-year-old is seeking seeking damages for emotional distress, reputational harm, and potential loss of income, and has requested a jury trial.

The Miss USA pageant is facing a defamation suit after it stripped one of its contestants of her title.

Brittany Boltinhouse, a 27-year-old business owner from Beulaville, N.C., was crowned Miss North Carolina USA 2026 on June 28. A little over a month later, her crown and scepter were snatched back, with Miss USA chairman and CEO Thom Brodeur announcing that his organization doesn't tolerate "racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity."

Now, Boltinhouse has filed suit against Brodeur, the Miss USA organization, and A Blaize Productions, which operates the Miss North Carolina USA pageant, alleging a defamatory campaign that caused Boltinhouse to "suffer injury to her reputation, livelihood, professional relationships, and community standing."

The complaint filed in Duplin County Superior Court on Aug. 23 and obtained by Entertainment Weekly accuses the pageant and its organizers of "maliciously coordinating" an effort to smear Boltinhouse as a "racist, homophobe, transphobe, and intolerable bigot to be shunned from public life." She is seeking compensatory damages, special and consequential damages, punitive damages, as well as attorneys' fees, costs and interest as a result of the defendants' alleged actions.

Brittany Boltinhouse in her Miss North Carolina USA 2026 regalia
Credit: Brittany Boltinhouse/Instagram

The title revocation came in the wake of a raft of resurfaced social media posts depicting Boltinhouse using the n-word, expressing support for divisive political figures like Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk, and sharing controversial views pertaining to the transgender community.

A Blaize Productions cited "a thorough review of recently surfaced information" and close "consultation with the Miss USA Organization" before terminating Boltinhouse.

In a release shared with EW on Monday, Boltinhouse's attorney, Patrick M. Mincey, made the following statement: "Brittany Boltinhouse was not merely stripped of a title. She was publicly branded with a scarlet letter, accused of some of the most despicable accusations that can be lodged against another person in modern society. The evidence will show defendants attempted to manufacture Brittany's false confession and, when they failed to coerce one from her, proceeded to lie in order to gin up an online mob bent on destroying a talented young woman."

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for the Miss USA organization and A Blaize Productions for comment.

The complaint does not contest the character of Boltinhouse's posts. Neither does it seek to reinstate her title as Miss North Carolina USA.

"Brittany's political posts revealed she was a staunch supporter of President Trump, the assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and an open skeptic of President Biden's 'Transgender Day of Visibility,'" the complaint notes. The defendants "acted with malice" toward Boltinhouse, the complaint alleges, solely "on account of her political and religious beliefs."

The complaint also explains why Boltinhouse was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Boltinhouse traveled with a local chapter of Turning Point USA — Kirk's campus conservative network — to Washington, D.C., on the day the insurrection ultimately fomented to hear Trump's speech on the National Mall. After the president wrapped up, "Brittany returned home... neither approached nor entered the Capitol Building," and "never encountered law enforcement."

Regarding her use of the n-word in a series of past social media posts, the complaint explains, "No one took offense because it was evident in 2017 and 2019 when Brittany wrote those posts as teenager no offense was intended. 27. Indeed, no offense was caused."

What Boltinhouse's complaint does seek is compensatory damages related to the alleged reputational harm, including any loss of potential future income. Boltinhouse is also seeking punitive damages relating to an apology statement that the former title-holder claims portrayed her as bigoted. There is also a request for special and consequential damages associated with lost career opportunities.

Boltinhouse is demanding a trial by jury.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly