Mrs. World arrested
Sri Lanka police arrest reigning Mrs. World for pulling the crown off of the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant winner, allegedly causing injuries.
Police in Sri Lanka on Thursday arrested the reigning Mrs. World for pulling the crown off the head of the winner of a Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant and allegedly causing injuries. She was later released on bail.
Caroline Jurie, who won the Mrs. World 2020 competition, was accused of hurting Pushpika De Silva, who won the Mrs. Sri Lanka title at a televised pageant held in Colombo on Sunday.
Moments after De Silva won the title, Jurie, who is also Sri Lankan, came on stage and snatched the crown from her, saying she was ineligible because she was divorced. Jurie then gave the crown to the first-runner up, declaring she was the winner.
In a statement on her Facebook page, De Silva denied being divorced.
“Being apart is one. Divorce is something else. I’m still an un divorced woman,” she wrote.
Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said police received a complaint from De Silva that she suffered injuries when her crown was removed.
Rohana said Jurie and a model, Chula Padmendra, were arrested Thursday on charges of “simple hurt and criminal force” and were later released on bail. The two women have been ordered to appear in court on April 19.
Jurie declined to comment as she left the police station.
The incident at Sunday’s pageant, which was attended by the prime minister’s wife, created a huge uproar in the Indian Ocean island nation. On Monday, organizers of the pageant said they would return the crown to De Silva.
Prince estate to drop album July 30
After a series of deluxe reissues of three of Prince’s biggest albums of the 1980s, his estate is exciting hardcore fans with the long-awaited emergence of the previously unreleased “Welcome 2 America” album from 2010.
The 12-tune, politically charged album, which includes “One Day We’ll All B Free” and a cover of Soul Asylum’s anthem “Stand Up and B Strong,” will be released July 30 via Legacy Recordings, it was announced Thursday. To trumpet this project, CBS’S “60 Minutes” will offer a report Sunday on Prince, shortly before the fifth anniversary of his death.
The deluxe version of “Welcome 2 America” will include a Blu-ray film of a Prince concert from April 28, 2011, which was part of his “21 Nite Stand” at the Forum in Los Angeles. Ledisi made a guest appearance at that show.
On Thursday, the estate released the nearly 5½minute “Welcome 2 America” title track on streaming services. It is a slowburn social commentary about corporations, mass media, technology, taxes and women’s rights, among other topics. Prince says “there’s no arguing with the Book” and “transformation happens deep within.” The most biting lyric: “Land of the free, home of the slave.”
— Star Tribune
Miss America to be crowned in live event
The 100th Miss America will be crowned before a live audience at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut following a year of virtual appearances and delayed competitions due to the pandemic, organizers announced Thursday.
“To be standing here today is exciting, especially with what everyone has been through over the course of the last 12 months,” said Mohegan Sun President and General Manager Jeff Hamilton.
The organizers had to postpone the planned 2020 broadcast and competitions until 2021 and extend the reign of the current Miss America, Camille Schrier ,fora second year. This year’s event and broadcast are planned for December, with specific dates yet to be announced.
The Miss America organization said Thursday it had reached an agreement to hold the multiday competition’s events and nationally televised finals for three years at Mohegan Sun, a resort casino in southeastern Connecticut that is owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe.
Andrew steps down as Ferragamo lead
Designer Paul Andrew is stepping down as creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo, effective in May, the fashion house said Thursday.
Andrew joined the Florence-based company as women’s footwear designer in 2016 and was promoted to creative director for all categories in 2019.
Ferragamo said upcoming collections will be entrusted to the current in-house design team. CEO Micaela le Divelec Lemmi thanked Andrew for his “passion” and for “enhancing the position and creative vision of the house.”
British-born Andrew did not announce plans. He suspended his namesake luxury show label when he joined Ferragamo.
Luxury fashion has been hit hard by the pandemic, with restrictions forcing new collections to be mostly previewed online and stores to close.