Miss North Carolina USA 2026 Dethroned After Miss USA Organization Condemns ‘Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia’
Miss North Carolina USA 2026 Dethroned After Miss USA Organization Condemns ‘Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia’
Angelique Brenes, Zoey LyttleThu, August 6, 2026 at 2:09 AM UTC
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Brittany Boltinhouse, former Miss North Carolina USA 2026Credit: BRITTANY BOLTINHOUSE/instagram -
The Miss USA Organization announced Brittany Boltinhouse has been dethroned as Miss North Carolina USA 2026 just over a month after winning the title
Chairman Thom Brodeur said the decision followed what the organization described as conduct that violated its standards and occurred “over an extended period of time”
Myla Hadley will assume the Miss North Carolina USA 2026 title, according to the organization
Just over a month after being crowned Miss North Carolina USA 2026, Brittany Boltinhouse’s reign has come to an abrupt end.
The Miss USA Organization announced on Aug. 5 that Boltinhouse is no longer Miss North Carolina USA 2026, saying the decision was made jointly with the titleholder, her state directors and the organization following what it described as conduct that violated its standards.
While Thom Brodeur, chairman and CEO of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, did not specify the conduct that led to the decision, he said the organization “does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity.”
“That is not a policy written for a press release,” he wrote in the statement. “It is the floor of what it means to represent this brand.”
PEOPLE has reached out to reps for Boltinhouse and Miss USA for comment.
Brodeur also emphasized that holding the title comes with expectations beyond winning a pageant. “A title here isn’t a trinket,” he said. “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 though nothing happened,” he continued.
The organization’s decision was not based on a single incident, according to Brodeur.
“What was brought to us was not a single moment,” he said. “It reflected conduct over an extended period of time. That is why this outcome was reached, and I stand behind it without qualification.”
Brittany Boltinhouse, former Miss North Carolina USA 2026Credit: BRITTANY BOLTINHOUSE/instagram
Brodeur said state titleholders are “recruited, vetted and approved for competition at the state level” and that the organization acted “as soon as this reached us.”
While standing by the decision, Brodeur also urged people to remember that Boltinhouse is “still a human being.”
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“There is a young woman at the center of this,” he said. “She has been named, examined, and judged in public in a way that most of us would not survive, and she is still a human being with a family, a future, and a life ahead of her that is longer than this part of her journey.”
“I have never believed that accountability requires cruelty, or that holding a line means enjoying the fall of the person who crossed it,” Brodeur continued.
He added that “zero tolerance is a standard for conduct” but “not permission to strip someone of their humanity.”
Brodeur also said he had seen Boltinhouse’s forthcoming statement and described it as one that included “ownership, accountability and apology.”
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“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,” he said.
Brodeur concluded by expressing hope for Boltinhouse’s future.
“I believe people can change,” he said. “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.”
Myla Hadley, the new Miss North Carolina USA 2026Credit: Myla Hadley/instagram
“These are moments where reflection leads to possibility and growth,” he added. “I believe the best you have to offer this world is ahead of you.”
He also announced that Myla Hadley will assume the title of Miss North Carolina USA 2026, saying she has the organization’s “full confidence and our support.”
Boltinhouse, of Beulaville, was crowned Miss North Carolina USA on June 28.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
