According to TMZ, the Miss USA organization and its CEO are hitting back at former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse, who is suing after being stripped of her crown.
In court documents obtained by TMZ, Miss USA leader Thom Brodeur slammed Boltinhouse’s lawsuit, which claims the pageant executives defamed her.
Brodeur and the organization argue that their public statements did not defame her, saying the statement never named her. They add that even if it had, it would count as an expression of opinion, which can’t be the basis of a defamation suit. They also insist that Boltinhouse already admitted to using racist slurs in social media posts, which they say makes her lawsuit meritless.
Boltinhouse was named Miss North Carolina in June 2026 and was set to compete in the Miss USA pageant that August. The organization pulled her from the competition after old social media posts surfaced in which she used the n-word. She claimed Miss USA also removed her because she attended President Trump’s January 6, 2021 rally, posted about the Tate brothers, and shared a tribute to Charlie Kirk.
The pageant announced her removal in a statement saying it does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, or language that strips any person of their dignity. Boltinhouse didn’t object to being removed from the competition, but felt the statement created a false public narrative that she was a racist.
She has yet to respond to the latest filing.
