Former beauty queen shares ‘dangerous’ surgery she was pressured into as a teenager
A former Miss Universe pageant queen has claimed that she was pressured to undergo liposuction while competing.
Brittany Mason made the allegation during TLC's newest documentary series, Crown of Deceit: Inside the Miss Universe Scandal, saying she was convinced to get the procedure after being introduced to a surgeon at a Miss Universe after-party.
Opening up about the experience in an interview with Page Six, Mason explained that although she'd been a US size two (UK size six) at the time, she was pressured into getting the 'incredibly dangerous' surgery done in order to meet 'certain expectations' laid out to would-be pageant queens.
Advert
"I still have scars from it," Mason explained to the outlet, adding that she 'did not heal well' from the surgery.
Despite being only 5'10" and 125 pounds at the time, the 40-year-old believed that by getting the surgery and succeeding at the pageants she would be making 'a better life for [herself]'.
Mason, who won Miss Indiana in 2008 and later placed seventh in the subsequent Miss USA pageant later that year, is one of many former Miss Universe competitors to speak out in the three-part documentary.
She can be heard discussing her experience in the trailer for the series, explaining that she 'could've died on the operating table' but went through with the procedure as she wanted the Miss USA crown.
Watch the full trailer for the documentary series below:
What's in the new Miss Universe doc?
Mason appears alongside fellow former pageant queens, including former Miss Michigan winner Taylor Hale and Miss USA 2023 winner Noelia Voigt, and promises to explore 'claims of intimidation, secret NDAs and leadership failures' within the competition.
Former judge Omar Harfouch also appears in the documentary, addressing claims he made about the competition being rigged, claims which Miss Universe later denied.
The documentary also covers the scandal which unfolded during the Miss Universe 2025 final, which saw a mass walkout after pageant winner and Mexico representative Fátima Bosch was publicly berated by an official.
There are also allegations surrounding pageant co-owners, Jakkapong 'Anne' Jakrajutatip and Raul Rocha Cantú.
According to a report from PEOPLE, Jakrajutatip was sentenced to two years in prison for fraud in December 2025, while NBC News previously reported that Rocha had his bank accounts frozen as part of an investigation into organised crime.
LADbible Group has approached Miss Universe for comment.
Crown of Deceit: Inside The Miss Universe Scandal is available to watch on TLC
Brenna Cooper
