BEAUTY & DISGRACE

Miss USA Contestant Booted From Pageant Over Explosive Allegations

The 27-year-old pageant queen has been replaced by the runner-up.

Miss North Carolina USA has been dethroned just weeks after winning her state’s top title.

Brittany Boltinhouse was crowned Miss North Carolina USA on June 28. On Wednesday, she lost her title over allegations of past racist behavior. She is accused of authoring several tweets that used the N-word.

The 27-year-old pageant winner, who wrote on Instagram on July 1 that she felt honored to be “the first Honduran to represent North Carolina at Miss USA,” has not publicly addressed the accusations. She will be replaced by the first runner-up, 24-year-old Myla Hadley.

The Looker has reached out to Brittany Boltinhouse for comment.

“What was brought to us was not a single moment. It reflected conduct over an extended period of time,” Miss USA and Miss Teen USA’s CEO and chairman Thom Brodeur wrote in a statement published on Instagram.

Brodeur continued, “The Miss USA organization does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity.”

While pageant organizers did not specify which behavior led to Boltinhouse losing her crown, North Carolina news outlet NCBeat shared a series of social media posts from an account it connected to Boltinhouse.

The tweets, which were posts from the handle Sosa the Stallion between 2017 and 2019, include several instances of the N-word.

A Blaize Productions, the company that produces the Miss North Carolina USA competition, offered more detail in a statement published on Instagram.

In its statement, the organization said it conducted “a thorough review of recently surfaced information,” noting that the decision was “not made lightly” but was based on ”the totality of the circumstances.”

In his post, Brodeur wrote of the significance of the title. “A title here isn’t a trinket. It is a position of trust, extended by an organization and accepted by a woman who agrees to carry a standard in public. ... When that standard is broken, the title cannot continue as though nothing happened,” he said.

Brodeur said the organization “acted as soon as this reached us.”

Still, Brodeur asked that people remember that Boltinhouse is a human being.

“Zero tolerance is a standard for conduct. It is not permission to strip someone of their humanity—which is, after all, precisely the thing we are holding her accountable for doing to others,” he wrote.

Adding, “Young people are more than the worst thing they have done.”

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FLIPPING OUT

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Brodeur wrote that he had seen a forthcoming statement from Boltinhouse and that, although it would not undo the harm, it includes “ownership, accountability, and apology.”

“In accordance with our succession procedures, Myla Hadley, First Runner-Up, will assume the title of Miss North Carolina USA 2026,” the organization stated. “We have every confidence that she will represent North Carolina with grace, professionalism, and dedication as she prepares for Miss USA.”

Hadley reflected on her new position in her Instagram stories, writing, “I understand the seriousness and level of prestige that this title carries, and I can confidently say that both my team and I are ready to take this on.”

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TODDLERS & TIARAS (BUT GOOD)

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The 75th Miss USA competition will begin in Miami, Florida, on August 24, leaving the freshly crowned Hadley less than three weeks to get pageant-ready.

But Hadley assured supporters that she is not intimidated by the short preparation time, writing that she had prepared to represent her state for a long time.

“I am extremely grateful and humbled by all the encouraging messages and the support I’ve received,” she wrote. “I am ready to represent North Carolina.”

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Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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