‘Mrs World’ returns her crown after Sri Lanka pageant controversy

The reigning “Mrs World”, Caroline Jurie, has returned her crown of her own accord weeks after an on-stage fracas in which she pulled the crown off the head of the winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka beauty pageant, organisers said.

“Her voluntary resignation decision was made solely by Caroline herself,” Mrs World Inc said in a news release on social media on Wednesday.

Jurie relinquished her title earlier this month, while defending her decision to remove the crown from the head of this year’s Mrs Sri Lanka titleholder, Pushpika de Silva, who she claimed was unqualified to take part in the April 4 contest because she was divorced.

De Silva said she is separated but not divorced, from her husband, though court proceedings are continuing.

“Being apart is one. Divorce is something else,” she posted on Facebook.

Jurie, who is also Sri Lankan, was accused of injuring de Silva in the televised pageant. Four days later, she was arrested on charges of “simple hurt and criminal force” and later released on bail.

Jurie said she was standing against “injustice” and that the pageant was “tainted.” She said she wanted to ensure that every contestant had an equal opportunity.

De Silva alleges that Jurie injured her while trying to remove the crown. She was again given the crown on Monday by the organisers, who disputed Jurie’s claims that de Silva is ineligible.

Contestants in the Mrs World, a beauty pageant for married women and Mrs Sri Lanka are required to be married. De Silva is eligible to compete for the Mrs World crown after winning her national title.

Jurie was not immediately reachable for comment.

Kate Schneider of Ireland, the runner-up in the 2020 contest which Jurie won, will be the new Mrs World 2020, organisers said.

The incident at the pageant, which was attended by the prime minister’s wife, created an uproar in Sri Lanka, which will host the final Mrs. World 2021 event this year.

The organisation also said the incident was a local matter for the country’s pageant organisers to review and that it would have no bearing on the Mrs World contest scheduled in Sri Lanka.

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.