A 17-year-old South Carolina beauty queen found herself in the middle of an unusual scandal after police said she forged medical notes to excuse her repeated absences from school.
Madison Cox, a teenager who had previously been crowned Miss Spartanburg International and later Miss South Carolina Teen International, was arrested in 2016 when school officials discovered the excuse notes she submitted were allegedly fake. According to local news outlet WSPA, authorities determined that the documents had been written on a notepad belonging to Parris Family Chiropractic, a clinic located in the Spartanburg area.
Investigators said Cox used the clinic’s letterhead to create convincing-looking medical excuses for the days she did not want to attend Byrnes High School. The practice, however, confirmed that Cox was never treated or seen on the dates she listed. In fact, officials noted that on several of those days, the chiropractic office had been closed altogether, making it impossible for the teenager to have legitimately obtained those notes.
Although it was not made public exactly how many notes Cox wrote or what they said, the forged documents were enough to draw the attention of both school administrators and local law enforcement. Once the deception was uncovered, Cox was taken into custody, booked, and briefly jailed, an unusual turn of events for someone so recently celebrated in beauty pageant circles.
A mugshot released by the Spartanburg County Detention Center quickly spread across social media, fueling even more attention. Many were struck by the contrast between the glamorous images of Cox on stage in pageant gowns and the stark booking photo showing her in custody.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, Cox herself seemed unimpressed by the attention. Shortly after news broke, she turned to social media to vent her frustration.
“Did they really just put me on the news BC I went to jail for a DOCTORS NOTE???” Cox wrote in a tweet captured by the New York Daily News before she later deleted it.
Her posts did not stop there. In a follow-up message, she reflected on the fallout with a mix of defensiveness and self-awareness:
“I’ve got to learn to stop being so childish and keep my mouth closed,” she admitted.
Cox then seemed to grow more irritated at the public scrutiny, posting another comment that read, “It’s sad that I’m the only entertainment in y’alls lives.”
The case sparked conversation in South Carolina and beyond, not only because of Cox’s pageant titles but also because of the relatively minor nature of the offense compared with the heavy media coverage. Some sympathized with her, suggesting that teenagers often make impulsive mistakes without realizing the possible consequences. Others pointed out that forging medical documents is a form of fraud and can carry serious legal repercussions regardless of the individual’s age or public image.
Cox’s arrest served as a reminder of how quickly youthful decisions—especially those made in an effort to avoid school or responsibility—can spiral into larger problems once authorities become involved. It also highlighted the growing tendency for such incidents to be amplified online, where even a teenage misstep can become national news.
While Cox appeared initially dismissive of the situation, her own words suggested she eventually recognized the need to think more carefully about her actions and public statements. Whether the lesson came from the legal consequences, the media attention, or both, the story of Madison Cox remains a cautionary tale about choices, accountability, and the unique pressures faced by young people in the public eye.
