Haibo: Pageant Turns Chaotic After Crown was Snatched Off Winner's Head
- The former pageant winner grabbed the crown from the new winner and handed it to the first runner up
- In her defence, the former Mrs Sri Lanka claimed the new winner was not married as demanded by organisers prior to the competition
- To everyone's surprise, judges concluded the first runner up was the legitimate winner
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A former beauty pageantry winner recently caused a melee during the crowning of the new winner.
Former Mrs Sri Lanka on Sunday, April 4, caused commotion during the crowning of the new winner over claims the winner had not won rightly.
Source: UGC
According to CNN, the former title holder took the crown off the winner's head and falsely claimed she was a divorcee and therefore ineligible to take part in the pageantry.
The aforementioned site reported that Pushpika De Silva was named the competition winner in a move that was applauded and cheered by countless spectators in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.
There was even video footage from the event that proved and actually showed how the organiser placed the winners' sash around De Silva, the winner and the crown on her head.
All was well until the pageant's 2019 winner and Mrs. World 2020, Caroline Jurie, took to the stage and picked up the microphone.
To start with, Jurie sensationally claimed the new winner did not deserve the crown because she was a divorcee.
Briefly News understands the competition demanded contestants to be married women hence the scuffle once a divorcee took the crown.
"I have a small request. As for the Mrs World Inc., there's a rule that you'll have to be married, and not divorced. So, I am taking my first step saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up." Jurie disclosed in the midst of the drama.
Jurie then turned to a stunned De Silva, the winner and forcefully took the crown off her head and placed it on the first runner-up.
To everyone's surprise, the first runner-up broke into tears and thanked the judges for the ''win'' as the real winner De Silva walked away.
After the incident, organisers declared De Silva the official winner of the pageant and said in an official statement that only contestants who were "legally married" were allowed to compete.
In her defence, De Silva in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday, April 5, said that she was currently separated from her husband for personal reasons, but they were not divorced.
According to her, she would have been removed from the competition at the start if indeed she had been ineligible.
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Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
