Brittany Boltinhouse, the former Miss North Carolina USA 2026, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Miss USA organization and state pageant officials, accusing them of destroying her reputation by publicly associating her removal with racism, homophobia and transphobia.
Boltinhouse filed the lawsuit Sunday, Aug. 23, in Duplin County Superior Court in North Carolina, according to the complaint obtained by People. The defendants include Miss USA chairman and CEO Thom Brodeur, JKN Universe LLC and A Blaize Productions, which operates the North Carolina competition.
The 27-year-old, who's maiden name is Espinosa Sosa, is not asking the court to restore her title or challenging the pageant's contractual authority to replace her. Instead, she argues that statements released after her removal falsely branded her as a racist, homophobe, transphobe, and bigot, causing lasting damage to her businesses, career, and personal relationships.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for defamation and civil conspiracy.
Boltinhouse, a Duplin County native who lives in Wilmington, won the state title June 28 and was preparing to represent North Carolina at the Miss USA pageant in Miami. She was removed Aug. 5 after what A Blaize Productions described as a review of "recently surfaced information."
Myla Hadley, the competition's first runner-up, subsequently inherited the title and will represent North Carolina during the Miss USA final on Aug. 27.
The complaint acknowledges that six social media posts from 2017 and 2019 included a racial slur. It also references more recent posts in which Boltinhouse expressed support for President Donald Trump, the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate. Other posts criticized former President Joe Biden's proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility.
Boltinhouse's lawsuit contends that the pageant organization combined the old language with her political and religious views to create a misleading public portrait of her. The daughter of a Honduran father and Mexican mother, Boltinhouse says the posts containing the slur were made when she was young and were not intended as attacks against anyone.
The pageant operators have offered a sharply different account.
In statements released after Boltinhouse lost the crown, Brodeur said the action was based on conduct occurring over an extended period rather than one isolated incident. He also declared that Miss USA does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, or language that deprives people of their dignity.
A Blaize Productions previously denied that Boltinhouse's politics, Christian faith or other protected personal views motivated its decision. The company said people with different political and religious beliefs were welcome in its organization.
Transcripts of recorded conversations included in the complaint provide additional details about the dispute. According to reporting by WRAL, a state pageant official told Boltinhouse that the decision was based on the "totality" of multiple issues and not simply her political affiliation.
The same official allegedly raised concerns about how her past posts, political associations and presence in Washington during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol would be perceived together. The lawsuit does not allege that Boltinhouse entered the Capitol or participated in violence.
Boltinhouse also claims pageant representatives pressured her to approve a prepared apology accepting responsibility for conduct that portrayed her as bigoted. According to the complaint, she declined to approve the statement.
Her attorneys argue that organizers then published statements that invited the public to conclude she had engaged in racist, homophobic or transphobic conduct without identifying a specific example beyond the resurfaced posts.
Boltinhouse previously told the conservative Carolina Journal that she believed her title was taken because she is an outspoken conservative Christian. At the time, she said a confidentiality clause prevented her from discussing everything that happened behind the scenes.
The defendants had not filed a public response to the lawsuit as of Monday morning. The allegations have not been tested in court.
