Miss North Carolina USA Winner 'Not At All' Sorry for Past N-Word Use

Miss North Carolina USA winner Brittany Boltinhouse says she isn't sorry about using the n-word in the past ... even if she had to cough up her crown.

In a new interview with Daily Mail, the scandalized pageant queen was asked if she thought she should apologize for using the slur, but she doubled down, saying ... "No. Not at all."

She told the outlet she felt like she was "unfairly targeted," saying ... "It's a constitutional right, it's your First Amendment right to express yourself ... and I feel like I was ripped of that as a proud American."

As you know, Brittany's lawyered up in an attempt to prove that she was targeted for her Christian faith and conservative values ... but tells the outlet she doesn't believe her old posts cost her the crown.

She said ... "[It] was because of my political and religious stance. My rights were violated, and I'm going to stand up for myself. They defined a narrative of me, and I'm here to redefine that now."

Her lawyer, Patrick Mincey, told the outlet he feels Brittany's been "defamed," saying ... "She's been called a racist, a homophobe, a transphobe. Those are false slanders and slurs."

He says her ousting "had nothing to do with posts from a decade ago, which we aren't running from and Brittany isn't apologizing for."

Mincey even insists that she's the one who's owed an apology and believes her past posts don't prove that she's racist. He says she's denying the racism accusations "100 percent."