A law firm on Monday said it is launching an investigation into the decision to strip a woman of the title of Miss North Carolina USA.
According to a video posted by attorney Patrick Mincey, his law firm will represent Brittany Boltinhouse and is investigating pageant organizers over their decision to strip Boltinhouse of the 2026 Miss North Carolina USA crown.
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Boltinhouse, who is from Duplin County and competed after being crowned Miss Wilmington, was recently crowned Miss North Carolina USA and was supposed to take the stage at the 75th annual Miss USA pageant on August 27. Instead, the runner-up, Myla Hadley, will take her crown and place at the national pageant.
"Our firm is honored to represent Brittany in connection with anticipated legal action," Mincey said in the Instagram video. "Our firm has been engaged to conduct a comprehensive investigation around the circumstances surrounding the removal of her crown."
Pageant organizers did not say what, exactly, Boltinhouse did to have her title removed. A Blaize Productions, which runs pageants in the Carolinas, said the decision came after a "thorough review of recently surfaced information."
In an interview with Carolina Journal published Friday, Boltinhouse said she believes her political views and faith played a role in the decision. Mincey agreed.
"Brittany has been targeted because of her Christian faith and her conservative political views," Mincey said. "No organization that claims to promote fairness, opportunity and empowerment should discriminate against an individual because of her sincerely held beliefs."
While it is unclear what exactly Boltinhouse did, Thom Brodeur, the chairman of Miss USA, said the organization "does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity."
Mincey said the decision appeared in his eyes to be a result of "cancel culture," and claimed that his firm had already collected evidence that suggested pageant officials didn't have any "legitimate or legal basis" to strip Boltinhouse of her title.
"To this day, pageant organizers have not identified any specific conduct that would justify stripping Brittany of her crown," Mincey said. "Their persistent refusal to cite concrete facts, rules or violations speaks for itself."
Brodeur said the organization holds pageant contestants to a zero-tolerance standard for conduct, but said holding someone accountable is not permission to "strip someone of their humanity."
"One thing is certain: Brittany Boltinhouse will not be canceled," Mincey said.
WRAL reached out to Boltinhouse's attorneys for an interview on Tuesday but were told she was not available. We asked the attorneys for any evidence that she was targeted for her views, whether their investigation has uncovered evidence to suggest past social media posts were the reason for the removal of her crown, and what their next steps are.
In an email response, they said they could not discuss specifics of legal strategy, writing, "The evidence will plainly show that Mrs. Boltinhouse was stripped of her title because of her religious and political beliefs. We look forward to telling the real story of her removal so that similar outcomes are avoided in the future."
WRAL also reached out to both the national Miss USA organization and the state chapter, asking if Boltinhouse's past social media posts were the reason for the removal of her crown, if Miss USA contestants are prohibited from making political or religious statements, and if they had any comment on Boltinhouse's attorney's claim that she was targeted for her conservative views.
Neither organization has responded.