Former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse has filed a defamation lawsuit against A-Blaize Productions, the pageant's producer, and its president, Thom Brodeur, alleging they maliciously fabricated a narrative portraying her as a racist and bigot after she was stripped of her title.
The lawsuit, filed on Sunday, contends that pageant officials conspired to create a false public image of Boltinhouse, aiming to have her ostracized from public life. Her legal team asserts that the social media posts from 2017-2019, which included the N-word, only became a point of contention after Boltinhouse, whose parents are Hispanic, had won the crown. The suit claims these posts, widely used as slang at the time, were deliberately misinterpreted to smear her conservative Christian identity.
Boltinhouse was dethroned on August 5, approximately five weeks after winning the Miss North Carolina USA title. The lawsuit alleges the true reason for her removal was her conservative Christian faith, pointing to her past actions and public statements. These include attending a Trump rally on January 6, 2021, expressing support for Andrew and Tristan Tate, objecting to President Biden's 2024 Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation, and advocating for Trump's election.
According to the suit, pageant organizers attempted to pressure Boltinhouse into signing a pre-prepared statement that would have admitted fault for past actions and offered an apology. The proposed statement read, in part, “Over the past several days, I have been forced to confront parts of my past that I am not proud of... Those words and actions were mine, and I take full responsibility for them.” Boltinhouse refused to endorse this statement.
Transcripts of calls included in the lawsuit suggest that the decision to dethrone Boltinhouse was influenced by external pressure. Nic Blaize, the pageant's co-director, stated that the national office instructed them to issue a statement regarding the situation.
A-Blaize Productions previously denied that Boltinhouse's dethronement was based on her political or religious views. A spokesperson for the company stated that their organization is inclusive of diverse backgrounds and beliefs. However, they added that the decision followed a review of undisclosed conduct and public content spanning multiple years that was inconsistent with the responsibilities of a Miss North Carolina USA titleholder.
Myla Hadley has since assumed the Miss North Carolina USA crown. A-Blaize Productions has not yet responded to the lawsuit. The legal action was filed on the eve of the Miss USA pageant, which began in Miami, Florida, on Monday.