After 'Mrs. Sri Lanka' Is Named, a Weird Turn of Events

It's an event that's high-profile enough that the prime minister's wife attended. The "Mrs Sri Lanka" pageant unexpectedly ended up being high-drama as well on Sunday night. The BBC calls it the country's "biggest beauty prize," and reports Pushpika De Silva was named the 2021 winner. Her moment in the sun was short-lived. Caroline Jurie, the previous winner who went on to win the title of Mrs. World 2020, addressed the audience from the stage: "I have a small request. ... There is a rule that we all have to be married and not divorced, so I am taking my first steps and saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up," said Jurie. She then removed the crown from De Silva's head and put it on the runner-up, and De Silva exited the stage, reports Newsweek.

The organization behind the pageant disagreed. It says that while De Silva is separated, she is not divorced, and the crown would be returned to her on Tuesday. De Silva confirmed her marital status in a Facebook post in which she says she is moving forward with "the necessary legal action for that injustice and insult." The head of Mrs. Sri Lanka World called Jurie's move a "disgrace" and said the Mrs. World Organization was looking into the series of events. At a press conference, De Silva added this, "There are a lot of single mums like me today who are suffering in Sri Lanka. This crown is dedicated to those women." (More strange stuff stories.)