On Friday, Miss North Carolina USA, Brittany Boltinhouse, was stripped of her crown. I was sent this story, and it piqued my interest, specifically because Miss USA Chairman Thom Bordeur was vague on the conduct that ended Boltinhouse’s beauty pageant ambitions.
Instead, Bordeur issued a statement that said the organization "does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity."
“Miss USA Chairman Thom Brodeur did not specify what conduct prompted the decision to take the crown away, but said in a statement that the organization "does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity," adding the conduct… https://t.co/fN0trZlOoD
— ChairmanOohMowMow (@ooh_mow) August 7, 2026
So, as a journalist, I did some digging. I would have bet you, dear reader, a cup of coffee that Boltinhouse said something about men in women’s sports or beauty pageants. Turns out I was wrong, but the reason they did give Boltinhouse the boot is equally as ridiculous.
Years ago, Boltinhouse, under the username "Sosa the Stallion," made posts using the "N-word." This was 2017 to 2019, when Boltinhouse was 20 or 21 years old.
Those posts, according to thencbeat.com, included Boltinhouse saying "ni**a" on several occasions in April, 2017. But it also turns out she was fairly open about her political views, warning that a Kamala Harris win would become a "Third World country." Posts also showed her at a Trump rally in 2021. Boltinhouse said her political views and her open Mormon faith were also factors in her dethroning, telling the Carolina Journal, "As of today I believe I was stripped of my title because of my political stance and my belief system as a conservative Christian woman."
Was she? It's possible. It wouldn't surprise me.
But the bigger issue is this: the same people who unseated Boltinhouse also believe that 26-year-olds are "children" who must remain on their parents’ health insurance. So, which is it: was Boltinhouse a child until last year, and therefore bearing the responsibility of a child who says something stupid online? Or is she an adult who must bear the full weight of her words to the point where it will possibly destroy her life, and over words that I can hear if I turn on any mainstream rap song on Spotify or Apple Music?
"I believe people can change," Brodeur said to the media. "Change is not a statement. It is a record. It is built over time, in the open, through conduct rather than apology alone."
Is it not possible that Boltinhouse changed between 2017 and last week? It is, and it seems foolish and short-sighted to punish her now for things she said almost a decade ago.
