The Mrs. Sri Lanka competition that was aired on Sunday took an ugly turn when the 2019 winner of the beauty pageant took away the crown from the head of Pushpika De Silva who was announced the new winner.

It all started when De Silva was crowned “Mrs Sri Lanka” title at Colombo theatre on Sunday night by prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa.  Moments later, the 2019 winner Caroline Jurie seized De Silva’s crown, claiming she could not be awarded the title because she was divorced.

“I am taking my first steps saying that the crown goes to the first runner up. There is a rule that prevents women who have already been married and are divorced,” said Jurie.

All this happened in front of a live audience who watched how Jurie walked towards De Silva and took away her gold crown, hastily removing a set of pins in the process as the situation turned heated on stage.

The prize has now been returned to Mrs. De Silva after pageant organisers confirmed she is not a divorcee.