Miss Grand USA revokes Mekyla Li title a week after crowning her

Miss Grand USA revoked the national title of Mekyla Li on Aug. 19, one week after crowning her, releasing her from the crown and all associated duties as she faces two felony hit-and-run charges stemming from a 2024 crash in Los Angeles. The organization said the decision was made in accordance with its contractual policies. It did not say what prompted it, and named no clause she had breached.

The charges stem from a November 2024 collision on Sunset Boulevard. One count alleges a hit-and-run causing non-serious injury; the other alleges a hit-and-run causing permanent serious injury. Li was arrested on Nov. 24, 2024, days after the crash, and pleaded not guilty to both counts at an arraignment on March 19, 2025. The criminal case has not gone to trial, and she remains presumed innocent.

Li had been crowned Miss Grand USA in Las Vegas earlier this month. People and TMZ date the final to Aug. 12; The Daily Beast and a ticketing listing for the Rio put it on Aug. 10. She was still celebrating the win on Instagram the day before the organization pulled the title, calling the night unforgettable.

A statement citing no specific violation

The organization announced the removal in a social media post that gave no reason for the decision. It said the termination was made in accordance with contractual policies outlined by Miss Grand USA, but it named no clause Li had breached. The statement misspelled her first name as 'Mekayla' and closed by asking that all dialogue surrounding the transition remain respectful.

Miss Grand USA announces the termination of Mekayla Li's reign and her release from the Miss Grand USA Title and all associated duties.

Li, her attorney and the pageant organization did not respond to requests for comment, according to PEOPLE, which reviewed the court documents in her criminal and civil cases, and have not publicly said why she was stripped of her title. Those documents show two matters running in parallel: the felony prosecution, which in Los Angeles County is handled by the district attorney's office, and a separate civil lawsuit filed by the other motorist.

Miss Grand USA calls itself one of the premier national pageant competitions in the United States, selecting the U.S. representative for Miss Grand International. After her win, Li said she planned to represent the United States on the international stage in India in full force. The international pageant is scheduled for October, and the criteria require the titleholder to be available for 20 to 30 days, or more if required, of rehearsals, media interviews, tours and sponsor engagements. Her removal leaves the U.S. entry unsettled with weeks to go.

The Los Angeles crash

The criminal case centers on a collision on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in November 2024. According to the civil complaint, a vehicle carrying Li and a man named Michael Scobey swerved into oncoming traffic and struck a car carrying Anna Mercedes Aoun. No published account identifies which of the two was driving. Aoun and Scobey are the other named parties in the litigation that followed the wreck.

Aoun filed the civil complaint naming Li and Scobey as defendants and asks the court to hold them liable for what she describes as lasting harm from the collision. The complaint sets out several separate claims tied to the wreck, none of which has been tested in court.

Aoun says she suffered catastrophic injuries in the collision, including some permanent disability, according to the complaint. She alleges the crash cost her future income and will affect her earning ability for years to come, and she is seeking damages to cover the loss.

The complaint further alleges that neither Li nor Scobey called for emergency services after the crash. Instead, according to Aoun, the two left the scene in a rideshare vehicle rather than remaining to aid the other motorist or wait for police. Aoun contends that failure to stop compounded the harm she suffered.

• Negligence
• Hit-and-run
• Driving while intoxicated
• Reckless driving

Li has not been found liable in the civil case, and she has pleaded not guilty in the criminal matter. Neither case has been resolved, and no court has ruled against her. The civil complaint alleges intoxicated driving; the two criminal counts against Li do not include a driving-under-the-influence charge. The pageant organization did not tie its decision to any finding in either case.

Rules on criminal history and marriage

Miss Grand USA's published eligibility standards require contestants to have a clean personal record with no criminal history, scandalous background, or participation in adult content deemed inappropriate by Miss Grand International. The rules also bar anyone who is or has previously been married or pregnant. Divorce records reviewed by PEOPLE show Li was married from Aug. 9, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019, which would conflict with that requirement on its own.

The organization's criteria also set demographic conditions. Contestants must be born female and between 21 and 35 years old by the date of the Miss Grand International final, and a legal resident of the country represented. Miss Grand International's own site states a different age range, 17 to 30. The rules add that competitors must be in excellent health, both physically and mentally.

Must have a clean personal record with no criminal history, scandalous background, or participation in adult content or activities deemed inappropriate by MGI.

The pageant's disclaimer says Miss Grand USA declares the winner in its sole discretion and is not bound by any voting mechanism. No published rule sets out how a title may be withdrawn. The rules say directors may carry out an additional evaluation of a contestant's readiness to serve, weighing professionalism, conduct, sponsor engagement and ability to represent the organization among other factors, and that this review may begin before pageant week.

Who takes the crown

The first runner-up, Miss Grand Indiana Victoria Oluwakotanmi, stands next in line for the national title. She represented Indiana at the national pageant. The organization has not formally announced her as the successor, and it remains unclear who will assume the Miss Grand USA crown or represent the United States at the international competition. A runner-up commonly ascends when a titleholder is removed, but the pageant has confirmed no such step.

From cloud nine to dethroned in days

Li was crowned at the national pageant and described the win as surreal, writing on Instagram that she was on cloud nine and calling it an unforgettable night. She had said she intended to take the Miss Grand International stage in India in full force. The organization revoked the title days after those posts, ending a reign that had lasted only about a week.

Before the national win, Li held the titles of Miss Grand Massachusetts 2026 and Miss Asia USA 2025. Born to Chinese and South African parents and raised across three continents, she describes herself on her website as a psychology scholar recognized for work on global identity and representation. The abrupt end capped a rapid rise through state and regional titles.

Other pageant dethronings

Li's removal follows another 2026 case in which a titleholder lost her crown soon after winning. The Miss USA organization, a separate body, stripped Brittany Boltinhouse of the Miss North Carolina USA 2026 title on Aug. 5, weeks after she was crowned, over archived social media posts from 2017 to 2019 reported to include repeated use of a racial slur. Boltinhouse, 27, was told she would not represent her state, and the organization said the review covered conduct over an extended period.

The Miss USA organization said it does not tolerate 'racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity,' and it named runner-up Myla Hadley to replace Boltinhouse. Chairman and chief executive Thom Brodeur said Boltinhouse was held accountable but cautioned against cruelty toward her. She has since hired lawyers and told the Daily Mail she is 'not at all' sorry for the posts. The national Miss USA pageant is set for Aug. 27 in Miami, where the winner will qualify for Miss Universe.

A decade earlier, in Texas, Caitlin Cifuentes lost the inaugural Miss Corpus Christi Latina title after her court record surfaced. Records showed she was serving a 10-year deferred adjudication sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a separate two-year probation for driving while intoxicated. Deferred adjudication is a Texas disposition in which a judge defers a finding of guilt; it is not a conviction.

The 2016 lawsuit, which sought $100,000 in damages, claimed Alvarez allowed Cifuentes to compete and win despite her record. Alvarez defended the decision, saying a bad background should not hold someone back from her goals and that Cifuentes had won fair and square. Officials at the Organization of Miss America Latina had admonished the local pageant over the outcome.

What comes next for the title

Miss Grand USA has not said when it will name a new titleholder or whether Oluwakotanmi will accept the role. The Miss Grand International competition in India is scheduled for October, leaving limited time to prepare a replacement to compete for the United States on the world stage. No public timeline has been set for filling the vacancy or naming an international representative.

Li's criminal and civil cases continue in Los Angeles, where she has denied wrongdoing and awaits trial. A criminal complaint is an accusation, not a conviction, and no plea is taken in the civil matter at this stage. The pageant organization has asked that discussion of the change stay respectful, and it has offered no further public account of the policies behind her removal. For now, one of the title's briefest reigns has ended without a stated cause.