Miss North Carolina Stripped of Crown Due to “Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia”

The Miss USA Organization has stepped in to snatch the crown of Miss North Carolina Brittany Boltinhouse. The organization’s president and CEO Thom Brodeur announced on Wednesday on social media that Boltinhouse’s reign had “come to an end” and that the decision to relinquish her crown was made “together with her, her state directors, and in consultation with the Miss USA organization.” Brodeur’s statement, which was issued on Instagram, said that Miss USA “does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity — whoever they are.” It did not include specific examples of Boltinhouse using such language.“That is not a policy written for a press release, it is the floor of what it means to represent this brand,” the statement continued. “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 thought nothing happened.” The organization asserted that the behavior that led to Boltinhouse being stripped of her crown was “not a single moment,” but “conduct over an extended period of time.” Brodeur said that a statement from Boltinhouse was forthcoming and that it was full of “ownership, accountability and apology.” “While it does not undo the harm, and it does not change the outcome, it is the beginning of the only thing that ever repairs harm, which is change,” Brodeur said. “I believe people can change. I have built my career on the conviction that young people are more than the worst thing they’ve done. I’m also quite aware that change is not a statement. It is a record. It is built over time, in the open, through conduct rather than apology alone.”Boltinhouse was stripped of her title just mere weeks before the Miss USA 2026 competition is set to take place on August 26 in Miami, Florida. It will mark the organizati