Unapologetic Mrs. World, Arrested Over Pageant Fracas, Believes She Did the Right Thing
Beauty queen and Mrs. World 2020 title-holder Caroline Jurie is stepping down after snatching the crown off the head of the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant winner on Sunday, allegedly causing injuries that resulted in Jurie's arrest.
Jurie climbed onstage after Pushpika De Silva was announced as the winner and pulled the crown off De Silva's head, claiming De Silva was divorced and declaring the first runner-up the true pageant winner.
"As for the Mrs. World competition, there is a rule that you have to be married and not divorced. So, I'm taking my first step saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up," Jurie, a Sri Lankan, said to a stunned audience.
Organizers later re-crowned De Silva after confirming she was not divorced but separated from her husband. De Silva later said in a statement regarding the incident that "being apart is one. Divorce is something else. I'm still an un [sic] divorced woman."
Senior police official Ajith Rohana told reporters that Jurie and model Chula Manamendra, who participated in the de-crowning, were charged with assault and causing damage to the pageant venue, Nelum Pokuna Theatre.
Chandimal Jayasinghe, national director of Mrs. Sri Lanka World, told the BBC the franchise was "deeply disturbed and sincerely regrets" Jurie's behavior and the incident.
On Thursday, Jayasinghe told reporters in the capital city of Colombo, where the pageant was held, that she would drop the charges against Jurie if she were to make a public apology. Jurie would not answer reporters as she left the police station Thursday but later released a video on social media regarding the incident.
Jurie, appearing poised in her crown and sash, explained that she thought she was acting in the best interest of the contestants and honoring her values.
"I want to express my dismay over the recent actions that caused controversy. I have no personal anger with anyone I have no agendas," she said. "If my actions hurt the feelings of any past or current winners of international or national crowns, I do feel what you are feeling right now. Every beauty pageant has rules and regulations, and what I was pushing for from the very beginning was a fair stage where rules and regulations are equal to all."
The video ends with Jurie removing the crown from her head and telling the camera that she is "now ready to hand over the crown."
Newsweek reached out to Jurie for comment but received no response.
