6 April 2021 10:21 am Views - 16471
Following the brawl which erupted at the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant in Colombo on Sunday night where the winner, Pushpika De Silva, was uncrowned by reigning Mrs World Caroline Jurie over allegations that she was a divorcee, the Mrs. World Organization yesterday responded saying delegates sent by Mrs. Sri Lanka-world to compete in the international pageant must be married.
The Mrs. World Organization, however in an email response to the Daily Mirror said they regretted the actions of reigning Mrs.. World Caroline Jurie at the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant and added they were reviewing the incident to take steps as deemed appropriate based on the outcome of their assessment.
The Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant received widespread attention throughout the country since it was held on Sunday evening, after Jurie uncrowned the winner, Pushpika De Silva on stage and crowned the first runner up instead claiming that Pushpika was a divorcee and hence was ineligible for the crown.
Mrs.world organization said they were deeply disturbed and sincerely regretted the behavior of their current titleholder, as her actions went against the Mrs. Sri Lanka code of conduct and the predetermined regulations she is obliged to follow during her reign.
“The Mrs. Sri Lanka-world Director Chandimal Jayasinghe will request Mrs. Caroline Jurie to issue a personal statement apologizing for her conduct. Let it be known, Mrs. World Inc. does not sit in moral judgment. If the delegate sent by Mrs. Sri Lanka-world to compete in the international competition is legally married she will be accepted,” the organization said.
The organizers of the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant yesterday were up in arms against Jurie’s behaviour and said while they would not take any action against her behaviour, they expected Mrs.world organization to intervene and take appropriate action.
Mrs. Sri Lanka for Mrs. World pagenat’s national director Chandimal Jayasinghe told the Daily Mirror that they suspected Jurie appeared to take out a personal vengeance on the crowned winner Pushpika, whom she initially crowned on stage but later uncrowned due to claims that she was divorced.
“There is no need to take any action against Jurie as the whole country witnessed her behaviour in disgust. We expect Mrs. World organization to take action against her. Caroline may be suffering from some mental disorder or depression, but we do not know what happened. She made a huge blunder. She is responsible for her own actions,” Chandimal said.
The brawl erupted late on Sunday night when Pushpika De Silva who was contestant number 20, was judged the winner and crowned by Jurie herself. Shiranthi Rajapaksa, Rosy Senanayake and Jalani Premadasa were the Chief guests who gave out the trophies and bouquets to the winner, and the first and second runner ups.
After the guests had left and after the judges had vacated the premises, and when the winner was about to make her victory walk, Caroline Jurie had stormed on stage, snatched a microphone from the host and claimed that Pushpika was a divorcee and therefore she could not be crowned the winner. She then declared the first runner up as the winner and proceeded to remove the crown from Pushpika. She was supported by Chula Padmendra who was also part of the show. Jurie then crowned the first runner up and Pushpika angrily stormed off the stage.the Daily Mirror learns that a massive brawl then erupted back stage.
Pushpika was admitted to hospital, suffering from scalp injuries yesterday and has also lodged a police complaint against Jurie and Padmendra.
However soon after the incident Pushpika was seen talking to the police outside the Nelum Pokuna Theatre where the contest was held with no visible injuries. Pushpika could not be contacted for a comment as her assistant claimed that she received serious injuries after her crown was forcefully pulled.
Chandimal said that Jurie’s claims that Pushpika was a divorcee was merely words as she had not provided any legal proof. Pushpika herself has denied the claims stating that she was not divorced.
The plot however took a further twist last evening, when Pushpika’s husband in a Facebook post urged people not to involve him in the incident since he had not been living with Pushpika for the past four years and said the couple were facing an ongoing divorce case which was about to get finalized.
The Daily Mirror learns that Pushpika’s case has been fixed in court for June/july 2021 and the Mrs. World contest will be held in December 2021.
Chandimal said all contestants had to provide proof of their marriage and had to fill out the forms accordingly before taking part in the contest. So while Pushpika may have been eligible to contest the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant on Sunday, if her trial goes ahead mid this year and a divorce is granted, then
Pushpika will not be eligible to contest the main Mrs. World pageant in December with the organization’s clause that the delegate sent by Mrs. Sri Lanka-world to compete in international competition will be accepted only if she is married.
Former Mrs. World and Mayor of Colombo, Rosy Senanayake who has been a part of the Mrs. World organization for several years, last evening apologized on behalf of the Mrs. World stating that what had unfolded was unacceptable and shocking.
“This is not how women should behave. For me, I am ashamed because this is disgracing the Mrs.. World organization. It is a disgrace for all humanity to see people going to the extent of humiliating, character assassinating and plucking the crown off someone and making it look like a wrestling match. The little I saw of this, I am shocked,” Senanayake said.
The Daily Mirror learns that just two days before the event, the organizers had included a clause that all the contestants must be well versed in English, which was then removed by Senanayake who said this went against the Mrs. World rules as contestants could speak any language. It is unclear if the clause was included by Jurie herself but some who were involved in the contest said Jurie had insisted for this clause to be included at the last moment.
Several attempts to contact Jurie failed as she did not respond to calls or messages. (JAMILA HUSAIN)