Mekyla Li's reign as Miss Grand USA lasted barely a week. The 27-year-old was crowned on August 10 in Las Vegas, only to be stripped of the title on August 19 after organizers said she violated the pageant's eligibility rules — rules that bar contestants with a criminal record or any history of marriage.
According to court records cited by the New York Post, Li faces two felony charges tied to a hit-and-run in Los Angeles in November 2024. She was arrested on November 24, 2024, and later pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she caused a non-serious injury and a permanent serious injury. She was formally arraigned on March 19, 2025, meaning the felony case was pending throughout her run for the national pageant crown, according to The Looker.
A civil lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court lays out what allegedly happened that night. Crash victim Anna Mercedes Aoun claims that Li and a co-defendant, Michael Scobey, swerved into oncoming traffic on Sunset Boulevard and collided with her vehicle, then fled the scene in a rideshare without calling emergency services, per the civil complaint. The suit, docketed as case number 25STCV07395 and reported by Bacci Notícias, names both Mekyla Bedwell — Li's legal name — and Scobey as defendants, alleging negligence, hit-and-run, driving under the influence, and reckless driving.
Catastrophic Injuries Alleged, Jury Trial Sought
Aoun alleges she suffered catastrophic injuries, including some permanent disability, and is seeking damages for medical expenses, property damage, lost earnings and other costs tied to the crash. She is also seeking a jury trial and alleges she lost future income as a result of her injuries. None of the civil allegations have been resolved in court.
Under California Vehicle Code Section 20001, leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death is a wobbler offense that can be charged as a felony carrying up to four years in state prison and fines up to $10,000 when a serious injury results, according to the Shouse Law Group. State law requires drivers to stop and render aid at the scene of a crash regardless of who caused it.
Pageant Rules Left No Room For Exceptions
Miss Grand International's eligibility rules require contestants to have a clean personal record with no criminal history, and separately state that contestants cannot be or have ever been married or pregnant. Li was married to Danny Ray Bedwell on August 9, 2018, in the United States, and the marriage ended on December 31, 2019 — a history organizers said conflicted with the pageant's requirements once it came to light.
The eligibility standard puts Miss Grand International sharply at odds with rivals in the pageant world. Miss Universe updated its own rules in 2023 to permit married women, mothers and pregnant contestants to compete, according to Pageant Planet, while Miss Grand International has held firm to its traditional bans. Founded in 2013 in Thailand by media producer Nawat Itsaragrisil, Miss Grand International is considered one of pageantry's major Grand Slam competitions alongside Miss Universe and Miss World.
Miss Grand USA said its decision to terminate Li's reign was based on contractual policies outlined by the organization, and confirmed she was released from the title and all associated duties. Before Li was even eligible to compete nationally, she had already resigned her Miss Asia USA 2025 title, prompting producer Virgelia Productions to crown Nicole Yaejin Hahn as her replacement, per The National Law Review. She also held the Miss Grand Massachusetts 2026 title at the time of her national win.
A Short-Lived Celebration
Li had celebrated her win just days earlier, calling the victory surreal and describing it as an unforgettable night. A week into this reign, and I’m still taking it all in. But now, the dreaming becomes doing, she wrote on August 18, according to the Post. Per Edgar Entertainment, she had also said she was excited and thinking about the journey ahead as she prepared to represent the United States at the Miss Grand International pageant in India later in 2026.
That international final is scheduled for October 10, 2026, in India, according to The Looker, a tight deadline that appears to have pushed Miss Grand USA to move quickly once the eligibility issues surfaced. In July, while preparing for the national competition, Li had traveled to Manila for intensive coaching with trainer Kenneth Ganaba and made press appearances, per The Qrown Philippines. According to her own website, Li was raised across three continents and was born to Chinese and South African parents.
Runner-Up Steps Into The Crown
On August 20, Miss Grand USA named Victoria Oluwakotanmi as Li's replacement, saying she would carry the crown and represent the United States at the world finals. Oluwakotanmi had finished as first runner-up in the 2026 competition after previously placing as second runner-up when she competed in the pageant in 2024, according to Pageant Gist. She had also competed in the Miss Texas USA pageant in 2023, was named Miss Black San Antonio in March 2020, and joined the military after graduating school.
Oluwakotanmi has not publicly addressed Li's dethroning, though she has shared congratulatory messages on her Instagram stories since being named the new titleholder. It remains unclear whether Li plans to contest the pageant's decision or how the pending criminal and civil cases against her will proceed.
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