Miss North Carolina USA pageant producers fire back after winner says she lost title over faith

The stripping of a Miss North Carolina USA winner's crown was due to "the totality of the circumstances" of her past objectionable speech and not her conservative politics or Christian beliefs, according to organizers.

"A Blaize Productions’ decision was not based on Brittany Boltinhouse’s political views, religious beliefs, or protected personal viewpoints," according to a statement released by the organization that holds the North Carolina state license for the Miss USA pageant.

"Our organization includes people from various backgrounds, political views, personal beliefs and values. We welcome and celebrate that."

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Brittany Boltinhouse, 27, won the Miss North Carolina USA pageant in June but only held the crown for weeks after her past online posts were scrutinized. She was stripped of her crown this week and said her views and past public statements were the reason.

"I believe and think I was stripped from my title because of my political stance and my belief system as a conservative Christian woman," Boltinhouse, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the Carolina Journal in an interview Friday.

"I am proud of my faith. I am proud of my standards. I am a proud conservative woman, but a Christian woman. I'm a God-fearing woman."

"I will never let my guard down for my faith, and also I love this country."

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The organization that stripped her of her spokeswoman victory says it was due to her online speech, after old social media posts resurfaced of her repeated use of the N-word.

"The decision followed a careful review of the totality of information that came to our attention, including previously undisclosed conduct and public content spanning multiple years that was inconsistent with the standards and responsibilities expected of a Miss North Carolina USA titleholder under the agreements governing the position," the organizers' statement concluded.

Miss USA President and CEO Thom Brodeur, who lists "he/him" pronouns on his Instagram, had said in a statement earlier this week that the pageant "does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity," according to Fox Carolina, saying the objectionable statements "reflected conduct over an extended period of time."

"A title here isn’t a trinket," he told ABC News. "It is a position of trust, extended by an organization and accepted by a woman who agrees to carry a standard in public," he added. "When that standard is broken, the title cannot continue as though nothing happened."

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The Miss North Carolina USA title has since passed to first runner-up Myla Hadley, who is set to represent the state at the Miss USA pageant beginning Aug. 24 in Miami.

"I think and believe that my title was ripped from me because of my beliefs," Boltinhouse told the Carolina Journal, adding "every teenager has made a mistake" when talking about the posts from 2017-2019 where the alleged objectionable statements were made online.

Boltinhouse pointed to her winning the crown based in part on being named Miss Congeniality "because of my character and who I am."

"I won't be judged for my past," she said, taking this setback as a "blessing in disguise" for her, adding she is "glad it happened to me and not some other young lady that, you know, probably just wouldn't make it through what I am going through right now."

"You have a right to be a conservative in this country, a constitutional right," she added in that interview. "Everyone has a right to say what they want to say and feel what they want to feel."