Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse Stripped of Her Title
My thoughts on the Miss North Carolina USA situation
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Read the official statement from A Blaize Productions below:
I interviewed former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse just last month, so you can imagine my surprise when the official statement announcing that her reign had been ‘concluded’ came through on my feed last week.
![[EP 357] BRITTANY BOLTINHOUSE INTERVIEW: MISS NORTH CAROLINA USA 2026](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!j6nd!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F207350864%2F813f6178-2e74-4317-92c8-ff74a66a2c98%2Ftranscoded-1784453183.png)
It often seems that the pageant industry only makes mainstream news when the latest scandal hits. I remember getting a text from a friend of mine late last year when the Miss Universe Organization seemed to be doing everything within its power to spectacularly implode on the global stage.
It now seems that Boltinhouse is considering taking legal action, posting a short video clip from her legal counsel on her social media.
Most of you will know that I don’t do drama, pageant or otherwise. I find it neither interesting nor entertaining. I’d much rather keep my head down, nose to the grindstone, and focus only on the things I can control.
That being said, given that my interview with Boltinhouse is both public and recent, it’s receiving a considerable amount of attention on YouTube, where there is no shortage of people willing to offer their opinion:
Predictably, it didn’t take long for the debate to become political. On the one hand, there were those contending Boltinhouse had been stripped of her title because of her use of the N-word in recently resurfaced social media posts. On the other hand, there were those contending she had been stripped because of her conservative religious and/or political views.
Here’s the simple truth:
None of us knows what happened.
Everything is conjecture and hearsay (at this point in time). In a recent interview, Boltinhouse said that she was bound by a confidentiality clause, leaving it unclear whether even she knew the exact reason(s) for her dethronement.
The temptation in situations such as these is to rush to a conclusion. To have an opinion.
Don’t.
Not publicly at least.
Rightly or wrongly, your reputation is everything in pageantry, and it can be ruined by one simple like, share, or comment.
Yes, it is your right to have an opinion, but you do not have an obligation to share it, especially on social media. Regardless of whether or not you think Boltinhouse’s dethronement was the right move, none of us have all of the pertinent facts to hand, and it is dangerous and intellectually lazy to jump to a conclusion.
The situation naturally raises some important issues to discuss, such as to what extent a titleholder should be held accountable for social media posts made or opinions expressed years ago, however those types of discussions are rarely held on social media. Have them with a pageant bestie, coach, or parent by all means, but not under someone else’s post.
You do not need to comment on every controversy. You do not need to pick a side before all the facts are available.
And you certainly do not need to sacrifice your own reputation just to prove that you have an opinion.
Adrian
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