US3 min(s) read
Published 10:14 07 Aug 2026 GMT
Brittany Boltinhouse has been stripped of the Miss North Carolina USA title five weeks after winning it.
Old social media posts containing racist language resurfaced online shortly after the 27-year-old was crowned on June 28.
She was due to represent North Carolina at the 75th annual Miss USA pageant in Miami on August 27.
That will not be happening now.
First runner-up Myla Hadley has taken her place.
Miss USA CEO Thom Brodeur confirmed the decision on Wednesday, saying the organisation 'does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity'.
Brodeur's statement did not name the platform or quote the content directly.
He said the decision was not based on a 'single moment' but on 'conduct over an extended period of time'.
Complex and other outlets have reported that the posts contained the N-word. Local station WITN described them as 'inflammatory'.
They are believed to have surfaced shortly after Boltinhouse was crowned, as tends to happen when someone previously unknown suddenly gets a lot of public attention and people start going through their history.
Boltinhouse lives in Wilmington but is originally from Duplin County, a rural area in eastern North Carolina.
She has not yet responded publicly.
Brodeur's statement was unusually direct for this kind of announcement.
He described the title as 'not a trinket' but 'a position of trust extended by an organisation and accepted by a woman who agrees to carry a standard in public'.
He acknowledged that Boltinhouse had apologised.
'That does not undo the harm, and it does not change the outcome.'
He also cautioned the public against going too far in the other direction, saying: "Accountability is necessary, but cruelty is not."
Her actions, he said, did not give people 'permission to strip someone of their humanity, which is, after all, precisely the thing we are holding her accountable for doing to others'.
The Miss USA organisation said it deliberately issued its statement before Boltinhouse had the chance to address the situation herself.
A Blaize Productions, the company that runs the Miss North Carolina USA preliminary, said the decision 'was not made lightly' and followed 'a thorough review of recently surfaced information'.
On the night she was crowned, Boltinhouse posted on Instagram.
'There are moments in life that forever change who you are. This is one of mine.'
'This crown is bigger than me. It's for the people who have been underestimated. For those who have been told they're too old, too young, too different, or not enough.'
That post reads very differently now.
It is not the first time a beauty queen has lost her title over old social media activity.
Former Miss Finland Sarah Dzafce was recently dethroned over an anti-Asian post.
In the US, pageant organisations have become increasingly aggressive about vetting winners' digital histories, though the vetting clearly did not catch Boltinhouse's posts before she was crowned.
The Miss USA system has had a turbulent few years for other reasons too.
In 2023, Miss USA Noelia Voigt resigned mid-reign, citing mental health. Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava stepped down days later. Both departures prompted wider scrutiny of the organisation's culture and leadership.
Hadley will represent North Carolina at Miss USA on August 27 in Miami.
The winner goes on to Miss Universe on November 24.
Boltinhouse's pageant career appears to be over.
Whether she responds publicly remains to be seen.
Brodeur's statement suggested the organisation wanted the story to end with their words, not hers.
