In an unforeseen turn of events, the winner of Sri Lanka’s biggest beauty prize was left with head injuries after a brawl broke out on stage. The ceremony took place on national television on Sunday.
Beauty queen Pushpika De Silva won the title of “Mrs. Sri Lanka” at the ceremony. Moments later, the 2019 winner seized De Silva’s crown, claiming she could not be awarded the title because she was divorced. More so, she snatched her crown saying that she was wrongfully claimed as the winner.
After the crown was removed, Jurie placed it on the first runner-up’s head while the initial winner angrily stormed off the stage. The first-runner-up was seen wiping her tears of joy at this sudden change of fortune. Jurie then hugged the new winner.
“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,” Jurie told the audience.
However, the prize later returned to De Silva, after pageant organizers confirmed she is not a divorcee. In addition to this, the organizers apologized to her, who says she is separated, but not divorced.
A massive brawl later erupted backstage as caught by the camera. The video footage of the entire event has gone viral.
Here is the video
It is pertinent to mention that Mrs. Sri Lanka World beauty pageant is a major contest in the country. The prime minister’s wife was among the guests at the ceremony.
Meanwhile, De Silva said she would take legal action for the “unreasonable and insulting” way she was treated.
“I’m still an un-divorced woman,” she wrote. “A true queen is not a woman who snatches another woman’s crown, but a woman who secretly sets another woman’s crown!” Taking to Facebook, she also revealed that went to the hospital for her injuries.
Jurie and the organizers came under heavy criticism on social media, claiming that they should have known the background details of the contestants before enrolling them for events. Many even blamed Jurie for acting in an ad-hoc manner to make it a public spectacle and humiliating a contestant in such a manner.
A few years back, in a similar bizarre turn of events, Ms. Philippines took home the Ms. Universe crown on but not before it went to someone else by mistake. The exalted Ms. Universe pageant observed a shocking moment when the host incorrectly named Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner of the popular crown.
Also Read: 8 Amazing Things You Didn’t Know About Miss Pakistan World 2016!
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