Brittany Mason is speaking out about the liposuction she says she was pushed into as a teenage pageant hopeful.
The former Miss Indiana 2008, 40, said in a new interview that she met the surgeon at a Miss Universe afterparty and was pressured into what she called “incredibly dangerous” surgery despite being a size 2, standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 125 pounds. She did not heal well from the procedure and still carries the physical marks.
“I still have scars from it,” she said, adding that pageant officials told her there were “certain expectations” for contestants.
Mason’s path into pageantry stemmed from a difficult childhood, with the Indiana native viewing either beauty competitions or military service as her route to “make a better life for myself.” What she found instead, she now says, was an environment where she felt “groomed” by adults in the Miss USA world. When pressed on that specific characterization, she indicated legal constraints currently limit what she can disclose.
“I can’t say more. I would love to. I’m hoping soon … I’m working on getting total clearance on that,” she explained.
Her experience is featured in the TLC documentary “Crown of Deceit: Inside the Miss Universe Scandal,” a three-part series examining systemic issues across the Miss USA and Miss Universe organizations. Mason claims numerous other former contestants wanted to participate but faced barriers to speaking freely.
“Either felt too fearful for their safety to speak, or maybe they’re being silenced through NDAs or the law,” she said of her would-be fellow participants.
The documentary surveys multiple controversies that have engulfed the pageant world in recent years. Former Miss USA vice president Max Sebrechts faced sexual misconduct allegations. The 2025 Miss Universe competition drew accusations of voter rigging surrounding the crowning of winner Fátima Bosch. Former Miss Universe co-owner Anne Jakrajutatip, who is transgender, received a two-year prison sentence for fraud and sparked additional outrage in 2024 when a leaked tape allegedly captured her stating that while married, divorced, and transgender women could now compete, “they can compete, but they cannot win.”
Mason condemned Jakrajutatip’s remark as “disgusting,” saying that after years of organizational controversies, “to have all this hope for this new owner to come in and make real change – and to hear it directly from her mouth that she doesn’t really care about giving opportunities to all women – it’s shameful.”
The documentary also addresses Miss Universe co-owner Raúl Rocha, whose bank accounts Mexican authorities froze in March amid an investigation for drugs, fuel and arms trafficking. Rocha has denied wrongdoing, and according to the documentary he is “considered a fugitive from Mexican authorities and was last publicly reported in Monaco.”
Mason attempted to purchase the Miss USA organization herself in 2025, though the bid ultimately went to Thom Brodeur. She has since spoken with the new CEO about reform efforts and described their exchanges as “positive.”
“He seems like he has good intentions,” she said of Brodeur, who also appears in the documentary discussing plans to address past corruption.
Currently, Mason is developing an initiative aimed at eliminating “predatory contracts” and establishing mental health support structures for contestants. She maintains optimism that meaningful change remains possible within the organizations despite their troubled histories.
“The truth is that corruption is everywhere,” she said, referencing prominent cases involving Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein that she sees in daily headlines. “It really truly is going to come from the women and girls demanding better in all of these spaces.”
“Crown of Deceit: Inside the Miss Universe Scandal” premieres on TLC at 8 p.m. On Nov. 12 and becomes available for streaming on HBO Max the following day.