Farewell, cruel Mrs World! Reigning pageant title-holder QUITS weeks after her arrest for ripping crown off Mrs Sri Lanka winner’s head in on-stage brawl
- The reigning Mrs World, Caroline Jurie, has resigned her title after her arrest
- Pushpika De Silva, 31, won title during ceremony in Colombo earlier this month
- Previous winner Caroline Jurie, 28, who is also Mrs World, snatched the crown
- Event organiser since confirmed Ms De Silva is not divorcee and returned crown
- Police confirmed Jurie and another model involved in on-stage fracas arrested
The reigning Mrs World, Caroline Jurie, has resigned her title, weeks after ripping the crown off Mrs Sri Lanka’s head during the ceremony.
Jurie was arrested and released on bail this month after a fracas at the Mrs Sri Lanka pageant in Colombo, where Jurie forcibly removed the winner’s crown, claiming the other woman was a divorcee and not qualified to win the title.
‘Her voluntary resignation decision was made solely by Caroline herself,’ Mrs World Inc said late on Tuesday, in a news release on social media.
Jurie was not immediately reachable for comment.
Pictured: Mrs. World Caroline Jurie (centre) flanked by her lawyers leave the Cinnamon Gardens Police station after being released on police bail in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 8, 2021
Mrs World Caroline Jurie, 28, (second left) was been arrested after she took the crown off the head of Mrs Sri Lanka winner Pushpika De Silva, 31, (centre) after stepping on-stage to accuse her of being divorced
Kate Schneider of Ireland, the runner-up in the 2020 contest which Jurie won, will be the new Mrs World 2020, the organisation said.
The organisation had said that it was a local matter for the country’s pageant organisers to review and that it would have no bearing on the Mrs World 2021 contest that Sri Lanka will play host to this year.
The winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka pageant, Pushpika De Silva, filed a complaint against Jurie.
Jurie was arrested when she visited a police station to record her statement.
The winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka contest will compete in the Mrs World contest. Jurie won the Mrs Sri Lanka crown in 2019, and went on to win the Mrs World crown in 2020 in Las Vegas.
Mrs World was released on bail by the police after she was arrested for yanking the crown from the new Mrs Sri Lanka’s head while claiming she should not have won the pageant because she was divorced.
Winner of Mrs. Sri Lanka 2020 Pushpika de Silva (centre) leaves Cinnamon Gardens Police Station in Colombo on April 8, 2021 after giving a statement in relation to the on-stage assault
Beauty queen Pushpika De Silva, 31, was awarded the 2020/2021 title during the ceremony at Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, Colombo, which was also broadcast on national TV on Sunday, April 8.
But Caroline Jurie, 28, who won the crown in 2019 and is the current Mrs World, snatched the crown from her head in the bizarre on-stage intervention.
De Silva was reportedly left with head injuries and needed hospital treatment after the incident, seen by stunned spectators in a packed theatre as well as a live social media audience.
The prize has since been returned to Ms De Silva after the event organisers confirmed that she is not a divorcee.
Police confirmed Jurie and another model involved in the on-stage fracas were arrested, and Jurie was pictured leaving a police station in Colombo on Thursday, April 8 after being bailed.
De Silva was also seen leaving the same Cinnamon Gardens Police station after giving a statement to the police.
‘We have arrested Jurie and (her associate) Chula Manamendra in connection with a charge of assault and causing damage to Nelum Pokuna (theatre),’ senior police official Ajith Rohana said.
In astonishing footage, Ms Jurie can be seen with a microphone in hand as she tells the audience: ‘There is a rule that prevents women who have already been married and are divorced, so I am taking steps to make the crown go to second place.’
She then strides over to Ms De Silva who is already wearing her crown and sash with a bouquet of flowers in hand.
Ms Jurie grabs at the golden crown which appears to get caught in Ms De Silva’s hair.
It is finally pulled free and Ms Jurie places it on to the head of the runner-up which prompts a tearful Ms De Silva to walk off stage.
Caroline Jurie, 28, who won the crown in 2019 and is the current Mrs World eaves Cinnamon Gardens Police Station after being released on bail in Colombo, Sri Lanka on April 8, 2021
De Silva was awarded the title during the ceremony at Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, Colombo, before the crown was snatched from her head
The prize has since been returned to Ms De Silva (pictured left ) after the event organisers confirmed that she is not a divorcee. Caroline Jurie (right) has since been arrested
The organisers have apologised to Ms De Silva, who won Miss Sri Lanka World in 2011, and she has since had her title restored.
De Silva told reporters outside the Cinnamon Gardens police station in Colombo today that she was ready to drop charges if Jurie made a public apology, but she had refused.
‘I tried to end this out of court, but she has refused,’ De Silva said. ‘I can forgive, but not forget.’
There was no immediate comment from Jurie or her lawyer.
Police sources said a court hearing was likely next week and Jurie and her associate who crashed onto the stage on Sunday, April 8 could be granted bail later Thursday.
Ms De Silva claims that she went to hospital to be treated for head injuries after the incident
Ms Jurie placed the crown on to the head of the runner-up which prompted a tearful Ms De Silva to walk off stage
Ms De Silva, who says she is separated but not divorced, posted on her official Facebook page just a short time after the incident to challenge Ms Jurie’s actions.
‘Living separately and being divorced are two completely separate things,’ she wrote.
She also claimed that she went to hospital to be treated for head injuries after the incident and said that she would take legal action for the ‘unreasonable and insulting’ way she was treated.
Ms De Silva continued: ‘I’m still an un-divorced woman. A true queen is not a woman who snatches another woman’s crown, but a woman who secretly sets another woman’s crown!’
She later told a press conference: ‘There are a lot of single mums like me today who are suffering in Sri Lanka.
‘This crown is dedicated to those women, those single mums who are suffering to raise their kids alone.’
Pushpika de Silva of Sri Lanka performs in the final of the Miss Tourism Queen International 2011 in XiAn city, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, December 27, 2011
The winner of Mrs Sri Lanka was ‘left with head injuries’ after Mrs World removed her crown and claimed she should not have won the pageant because she is divorced
Beauty queen Pushpika De Silva, 31, was awarded the 2020/2021 title during the ceremony at Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, Colombo, which was also broadcast on national TV
Chandimal Jayasinghe, the national director of Mrs Sri Lanka World, told the BBC: ‘We are disappointed.
‘It was a disgrace how Caroline Jurie behaved on the stage and the Mrs World organisation has already begun an investigation on the matter.’
Jurie had claimed that de Silva was divorced and therefore ineligible for the prize.
To qualify for the title, contestants must be married. De Silva is estranged from her husband, but they are still legally married.
Organisers said they were claiming compensation from Jurie for damages to the stage and backstage dressing rooms where several mirrors had been smashed.
Jurie has also been accused by organisers of bringing disrepute to the event.
The local franchise holder for the pageant, Chandimal Jayasinghe, said they were ‘deeply disturbed and sincerely regret’ the behaviour of Jurie.
Social media calls have been mounting to strip Jurie of her ‘Mrs World’ title, with one meme calling for her to be rebranded as ‘Mrs Under World.’
The organisers have apologised to Ms De Silva, who won Miss Sri Lanka World in 2011, and she has since had her title restored
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