Former Miss North Carolina USA says she's not sorry for using N-word after being stripped of title

The beauty queen at the center of a scandal that saw her stripped of her title after posts resurfaced that showed her using the N-word has boldly stated that she is not sorry for her actions. 

Instead, she has insisted that she has no regrets over the controversy that brought her reign to an end. 

Brittany Boltinhouse, 27, won the contest last month and was set to compete at the national Miss USA beauty pageant on August 27. 

However, last week, her title was revoked by the event's organizers, who cited 'recently surfaced information,' adding that the runner-up, Myla Hadley, would take her crown and place at the competition. 

While the organization did not specify what information it was referring to, a screenshot circulated on X that showed posts from an account believed to have belonged to Boltinhouse referencing the N-word in 2017 and 2019. 

Now, Boltinhouse has addressed the controversy during a bombshell interview with the Daily Mail.

She said she is not going to 'deny or run' from her past posts and is not sorry for what she said.

When asked if she believed she should apologize for using the N-word, she stated: 'No. Not at all.' 

The pageant queen, who is now preparing to legally challenge the revocation, didn't want to elaborate further; however, she said she believes her crown was not taken away because she used the racial slur.

Boltinhouse, who described herself as a 'proud conservative' and 'God-fearing' woman, alleged instead that her title was removed because of her 'political and religious stance.'

She told the Daily Mail: 'I'm going to address those [tweets] in my lawsuit, I'm not going to deny them or run from them. But they did not take my crown because of those posts.

'[It] was because of my political and religious stance. My rights were violated, and I'm going to stand up for myself. They defined a narrative of me, and I'm here to redefine that now.'

Thom Brodeur, the chairman of Miss USA, stated in a lengthy message when the announcement was first made that the organization 'does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity.' 

He added that the decision didn't come down to a 'single moment,' but rather 'conduct over an extended period of time.' 

Boltinhouse has now claimed she has 'audio recordings' that will back up her allegations that she was ousted because of her 'conservative' political views, adding that they will come to light 'at the appropriate time.'

Boltinhouse's lawyer, Patrick Mincey, told the Daily Mail that they believe Boltinhouse had been 'defamed.'

'She's been called a racist, a homophobe, a transphobe. Those are false slanders and slurs,' he said.

'The recordings are going to show exactly why she was stripped of her crown. It had nothing to do with posts from a decade ago, which we aren't running from and Brittany isn't apologizing for,' he reiterated.

'The apology is owed to her, and the audio recordings are going to support that.'

When asked if Boltinhouse was denying accusations of racism, despite her past use of the N-word, he added: '100 percent. Those posts are not racist or evidence of racism.'

'We will show that Brittany was labeled as prejudiced solely to justify her firing, which was actually due to her conservative beliefs,' her co-counsel Stephen Bell added.

Boltinhouse added that she believes she was 'unfairly targeted' by the organization, telling the Daily Mail: 'It felt like I was not able to be an American. 

'It's a constitutional right, it's your First Amendment right to express yourself ... and I feel like I was ripped of that as a proud American.'

Blaize Productions, which serves as the executive producer and state license holder for the official Miss USA pageants in North Carolina, told the Daily Mail that 'Ms Boltinhouse was not removed because of her political affiliation, religious beliefs or the exercise of those beliefs.'

'Contestants and titleholders are not prohibited from holding or expressing personal political or religious beliefs,' the company said in a statement.

'Our agreements do, however, establish standards regarding conduct, decorum, representations made to the organization and the responsibilities associated with representing the Miss North Carolina USA title.

'Following her crowning, previously undisclosed information and publicly available material were brought to our attention.

'The organization reviewed that information, communicated directly with Ms Boltinhouse, and consulted with the national organization. The decision was ultimately based on the totality of the circumstances, including conduct and material that the organization determined was inconsistent with the standards and responsibilities associated with serving as Miss North Carolina USA.

'This was not a determination about whether Ms Boltinhouse was entitled to hold particular political or religious beliefs. She was, and remains, entitled to those beliefs.' 

Blaize Productions added that Boltinhouse was 'repeatedly informed of the factors that led to the organization's decision.'

'During those communications, we expressly distinguished her personal political and religious beliefs from the conduct and material that were the subject of our concerns. At no point was she informed that her title was being terminated because of her political or religious beliefs,' the statement continued.

'We are aware that Ms Boltinhouse has referenced audio recordings of communications with the organization. Because we have now received correspondence from legal counsel representing Ms Boltinhouse concerning anticipated litigation, it would be inappropriate for us to publicly litigate the contents of private communications, recordings, specific evidence or individual allegations through the media. 

'We stand by the process that was followed, the reasons communicated to Ms Boltinhouse, and the decision that was made.' 

The organization concluded the statement by adding that Blaize Productions 'also continues to strongly discourage bullying, harassment, threats or personal attacks against Ms Boltinhouse.'

'Our organizational decision should never be interpreted as an invitation for anyone to mistreat her,' the company said. 'We continue to wish Ms Boltinhouse all the best moving forward.'

Boltinhouse told the Daily Mail that while the first few days were extremely 'hard,' she is now 'very much at peace' with the situation.

She added that she's 'glad' it happened to her and not someone who isn't as mentally strong as she is.

'I will take the highest measures to make sure this doesn't happen to somebody else, someone more vulnerable or younger than me, someone who doesn't know what to do,' she said. 

'I hope to be an example, and I will do what I have to do to make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm very much at peace. I'm glad it was me. I'm okay with it. 

'If it's between my principles and this crown, I'll choose my principles all day, and I stand by that.' 

When asked what she hopes to achieve by legally challenging the decision, Boltinhouse stated: 'One word: Justice.

'I don't want my crown back,' she added. 'I'm not here to diminish or hurt the organization, but I believe the process was unfair and what they did was unjust.

'I did [this pageant] for myself - to better myself, grow myself and to have a platform so I can speak on the advocacies I believe in and stand for as a conservative woman and a Christian woman.

'We come in all different forms, shades and sizes and we all should have the [same] right to do that.'

'[Whether you're] conservative, liberal, democrat, non-religious, religious, Muslim, Christian - stand [up for] what you feel all the time. Stand your ground on what you believe in,' she urged.

Ultimately, she said 'only God knows' what's next for her, but she is confident that there will be a positive outcome.

'I think the eight months of my life spent preparing for that pageant were for something [bigger]. The truth will come out,' Boltinhouse stated.