Mrs World Caroline Jurie, who snatched crown off Mrs Sri Lanka’s head, arrested for assault

The drama ensued because of charges that the newly crowned winner was a divorcee and not eligible to be Mrs Sri Lanka. Jurie has got bail.

Screengrab of the Mrs World Sri Lanka pageant, where the former Mrs World takes the crown from the winner, Pushpika De Silva, on stage. | YouTube

New Delhi: The police in Sri Lanka Thursday arrested the current ‘Mrs World’ for allegedly assaulting the new ‘Mrs Sri Lanka’ by snatching the crown off her head on the final day of the gala Sunday.

Caroline Jurie, who had won the ‘Mrs Sri Lanka’ title and the ‘Mrs World’ competition last year, was charged with assaulting her successor Pushpika de Silva and causing damage to the theatre where the gala was held Sunday. Jurie accused De Silva of being a divorcee.

“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 was quoted as saying in media reports.

De Silva told reporters that she would drop charges against Jurie if she offered a public apology for what she had done, but said the latter had refused.

“I tried to end this out of court, but she has refused. I can forgive, but not forget,” De Silva said.

The Colombo Police said a local court would hear the matter on 19 April, and that Jurie and her colleagues who crashed the stage Sunday were released on bail Thursday.

The gala  

On the final day of the competition for Mrs Sri Lanka 2021 Sunday, the host first announced De Silva as the winner. However, a few minutes after she was given the crown, Jurie intervened to claim that she is not eligible for the title as she was a divorcee.

“I have a small request. As for the Mrs World (competition), there is a rule that you will have to be married and not divorced. So I am taking my first step to say that the crown goes to the first runner-up,” Jurie said before removing the crown from De Silva’s head. 

The pageant organisers re-crowned De Silva after getting clarifications that she was not a divorcee. While she is estranged from her husband, they are still legally married.

The local franchise holder for the pageant has also demanded compensation from Jurie for damage to the stage and backstage dressing rooms where several mirrors had been smashed after the event.