Brittany Boltinhouse, the woman who was recently stripped of the Miss North Carolina title, is taking legal action. Against the Miss USA Pageant.
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Officials at A-Blaize Productions, who produces the pageant, officially decided to strip the recently crowned Miss North Carolina earlier this month.
Former Miss North Carolina Files Defamation Suit
Now Boltinhouse is taking legal action. Against the state pageant as well as The Miss USA organization and their chairman, Thom Brodeur.
She claims that the statements made about her after she was stripped of the title were defamatory.
A report from NC Beat accused Boltinhouse of using a firestorm of racial slurs on social media. Under an alias account between 2017 and 2019. This led to her being stripped of the title.
After the decision, Brodeur released a statement that emphasized that the pageant board "does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity - whoever they are."
He also added: "It is the floor of what it means to represent this brand."
In the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Boltinhouse claims that was one of the statements that painted her as racist, homophobic, transphobic and bigoted. She also said that the statements made about her could be damaging to her reputation.
Despite her claim, Boltinhouse acknowledges that she did make several posts where she expressed support for controversial public figures like Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, and Andrew and Tristan Tate. In addition to opposing former United States President Joe Biden's Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation.
And she believes that her being stripped of the title was more about her political views. Rather than the racist, homophobic, and transphobic posts that she made.
The former Miss North Carolina also claimed that she held private conversations with pageant officials. In those conversations, officials allegedly expressed "concerns about potential public backlash." She also added that the officials tried to get her approval on a public apology letter that "portrayed her as bigoted."
Boltinhouse's Lawyer Releases Statement
Boltinhouse's attorney, Patrick M. Mincey, told people that her being stripped of the title was a layered decision.
"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," he said in a statement to PEOPLE.
At the time of writing, the pageant officials have not responded to the lawsuit.
