The Staten Island beauty pageant in Sri Lanka gets into a vicious brawl as women in ball gowns try to stop the match between men in suits: the winner says the clash has “nothing” to do with the event or the contestants
- Video taken on Friday showed a ferocious brawl at a Staten Island inaugural beauty pageant to crown the first-ever Miss Sri Lanka New York
- The riots included several men punching and kicking each other while women tried and failed to stop it
- Event organizers and the pageant winner said the brawl had “nothing” to do with attendees or organizers
- Winner Angelia Gunasekara said the fight broke out between two people in the audience after the event
A shocking viral video shows the moment a massive brawl broke out at an after-party for the first-ever Miss Sri Lanka beauty pageant in New York City.
Women in ball gowns try to stop the violent struggle. However, the kicking and punching men in suits continue to pile up.
The melee, which involved no participants, took place Friday at The Vanderbilt in the South Beach neighborhood of Staten Island, known for its large population of Sri Lankan immigrants.
The pageant was organized to raise funds for a cancer hospital in Sri Lanka as the country struggles with medicine shortages.
Sri Lanka’s president fled his country earlier this year after months of protests over the deepening economic crisis.
A viral video shows the moments a Miss Sri Lanka New York beauty pageant descended into chaos when two contestants started a brawl
Although it’s unclear if there were any injuries, at least seven different men were involved in the riot as women tried and failed to stop it
Earlier in the night, Queens native Angelia Gunasekara was crowned the inaugural Miss Sri Lanka New York
Video shows the incident, which begins with screams between two groups of men, but turns into a violent riot as punches begin to fly while glass shatters in the background.
The women at the scene first tried to stop it, but the struggle quickly increased in intensity, forcing them to pull back and watch it unfold.
It was an unfortunate end to a glamorous night in which Queens native Angelia Gunasekara was crowned the inaugural Miss Sri Lanka New York.
Sri Lankan newspaper Colombo Gazette reported that fighting broke out between US-based Sri Lankans and Americans.
Gunasekara took to Facebook to “address certain rumors” surrounding the brawl and pleaded for publications to get the facts before reporting.
The fight “had absolutely nothing to do with the candidates, the candidates’ families, the committee, so it’s very upsetting to see articles about us,” she said.
Gunasekara added the “argument between two people in the audience outside after the event.”
It’s unclear if arrests were made after the fight, but the NYPD confirmed there were no arrests for assault in the area that night.
The NYPD also had no information on injuries.
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Posted by Miss Srilanka New York on Tuesday October 25, 2022
Gunasekara took to Facebook to respond to messages about the brawl, saying it had “absolutely nothing” to do with the attendees or the event
14 different contestants competed for the beauty crown on Friday, but Gunasekara, an office manager and student, ended up taking home first prize
The beauty queen lamented: “We didn’t have a single moment to feel or embrace the success.”
Gunasekara is “currently enrolled at the New York Institute of Technology with a major in Computer Software Engineering” and works as an office manager at a healthcare facility, according to the event’s Instagram page.
The organizing committee for the pageant also said the fight did not involve any contestants and said the incident had nothing to do with the pageant.
“To be clear, contrary to social media misinterpretations, none of the contestants were involved in any fighting at any point. Neither girl competed with each other for the crown,” the committee said.
“They respected the verdict, cheered for the winner and enjoyed the rest of the evening,” the organizing committee said,” they added.
The event was attended by over 300 guests and was rated as a “great success thanks to our event crew, our wonderful participants and all our sponsors and supporters”!