When Zozibini Tunzi won the Miss South Africa crown back in 2019, she not only changed the perception of beauty queens with her signature haircut; but her personality and laugh won the hearts of South Africans.
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Even before she went on to win the Miss Universe 2019 crown, South Africans had firmly placed her on the Basetsana Kumalo status of beloved beauty queens that South Africans will never forget. But with Zozibini winning the Miss Universe crown, the cost of being one of the most beloved and memorable Miss South Africas started showing what the negative side of it all was; the backlash that beauty queens that came after her would receive. Which to be honest, is not her fault.
First, it was the recently dethroned Miss South Africa 2019, Sasha-Lee Olivier that took over the crown from Zozi. Besides people dragging by suggesting that she was the illegitimate Miss South Africa because “Zozi will always be our Miss South Africa.” When the beauty queen started picking up weight because, life; social media body-shamed Sasha with viral suggestions that she was pregnant. And even after she had addressed the rumors, whenever there was a chance to drag her, it was used with no mercy.Now it seems that the next one to carry that cross is the newly crowned Miss South Africa, Shudufhadzo Musida. The beauty queen might be continuing the further disrupt the misconceptions of what a beauty queen is supposed to look like as a bald-headed, curvy beauty queen. But it seems that the matter that made her trend before she won the crown, is being used as a reason to start the smear campaign against Shudu.First was the matter of Shudu not being as interactive on social media as Zozibini has been with her followers on social media. This led to the chats over what has been discussed as her lack of a personality. By the second day of Zozibini having been crowned her laugh was part of her magic and charisma. It has been a week since Shudu has taken the crown, and I bet not a lot of us know what her laugh sounds like.But on Twitter, the debate has taken another wrong turn. As tweeps continue to compare, the debate has been reduced to the matter of tribalism. As a Miss South Africa from Limpopo- a province that has been overlooked for the wealth of talent it has given to the country- many feel that the backlash is because of her origin and not her capability to handle the crown.