Brittany Boltinhouse has spoken for the first time since she lost the Miss North Carolina USA 2026 title.
The Miss USA Organization announced her removal on Aug. 5. It said the decision followed conduct that did not meet its standards.
The group said the decision was made with Boltinhouse, her state directors and the organization. It did not give full details about the conduct that led to the title loss.
Thom Brodeur, chairman and CEO of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, also shared a statement. He said the organization does not support racism, homophobia or transphobia. He also rejected language that harms a person’s dignity.
Boltinhouse later discussed the matter in an interview with Carolina Journal editor-in-chief Donna King. The interview was posted on YouTube on Aug. 7.
During the interview, King asked Boltinhouse if her conservative political and social views had hurt her during the pageant.
Boltinhouse said she was proud of her beliefs.
She described herself as a conservative Christian woman. She also spoke about her faith and said she was proud of her personal standards.
Boltinhouse said she cannot share all the details behind her removal. She said she had signed an agreement with a confidentiality clause.
That agreement, she said, prevents her from speaking about some of the events that led to the loss of her title.
Even so, Boltinhouse said she was at peace with what happened.
She also said she was glad that she was the person facing the situation. She said another young woman might have found the pressure harder to handle.
The former titleholder also spoke about the effect of the situation on her family. She said she has faced public scrutiny but believes she can move forward.
Boltinhouse said she knows who she is and knows what she can become.
The interview also focused on whether conservative views can create problems in pageants.
King asked Boltinhouse if she believed being a conservative could be a reason for someone to lose a pageant title.
Boltinhouse said she did not believe that should be the case.
She said people in the United States have a constitutional right to hold conservative views. She also said the issue should not be limited to pageants.
King later asked about Boltinhouse’s support for President Donald Trump. She was asked if she believed that support for Trump could be viewed as disqualifying by the pageant system.
Boltinhouse did not make that claim.
Instead, she said she did not know.
She said she could only speak about what she knew at that time. She also said she felt she had not been given enough information about the decision.
The Miss USA Organization has not said that Boltinhouse’s political beliefs caused her removal.
Its public statement focused on conduct standards. The organization said its titleholders must meet those standards while representing the pageant.
The title has now passed to Myla Hadley. Hadley was the runner-up at the Miss North Carolina USA 2026 pageant.
Hadley will represent North Carolina at the Miss USA competition on Aug. 27.
The change has drawn attention to the rules that govern pageant titleholders. It has also raised questions about how personal views may be balanced with the public duties of a titleholder.
However, the full reason for Boltinhouse’s removal remains unclear.
Neither side has publicly provided a detailed account of the conduct issue. Boltinhouse’s confidentiality agreement also limits what she can discuss.
For now, her comments offer her view of the situation. She has made clear that she remains proud of her beliefs and intends to move forward after losing the title.
