Reigning Mrs World resigns weeks after pageant controversy

COLOMBO: The reigning Mrs World, Caroline Jurie, has resigned her title, the organisation running the pageant said late on Tuesday, weeks after she was involved in a controversy at the Mrs Sri Lanka event.

Jurie was arrested and released on bail this month after a fracas at the Mrs Sri Lanka pageant in Colombo, where Jurie forcibly removed the winner's crown, claiming the other woman was a divorcee and not qualified to win the title.

"Her voluntary resignation decision was made solely by Caroline herself," Mrs World Inc said late on Tuesday, in a news release on social media.

Jurie was not immediately reachable for comment.

Kate Schneider of Ireland, the runner-up in the 2020 contest which Jurie won, will be the new Mrs World 2020, the organisation said.

The organisation had said that it was a local matter for the country's pageant organisers to review and that it would have no bearing on the Mrs World 2021 contest that Sri Lanka will play host to this year.

The winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka pageant, Pushpika De Silva, filed a complaint against Jurie.

Jurie was arrested when she visited a police station to record her statement.

The winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka contest will compete in the Mrs World contest. Jurie won the Mrs Sri Lanka crown in 2019, and went on to win the Mrs World crown in 2020 in Las Vegas.