Television personality and actor Siv Ngezi has just opened up about losing his cousin to Covid19. He shared the sad news through Twitter, also revealing that his cousin got infected while caring for his parents.
Siv Ngesi’s drag queen personality, Sivanna has received a major backlash for scoring a modelling job with Beyonce’s x Adidas x Ivy Park.
Read more: Siv Ngesi Goes From Fab To Drag
The actor proudly announced his latest gig with an image of Sivanna dressed in a nude looking jumpsuit and a black and white IVY park sash and captioned the image with:
Even though Ngesi clarified that he wasn’t paid for the gig, his shoot didn’t sit well with Tweeps who felt that his alter-ego was stealing opportunities for other drag queens who have been struggling to get such exposure.
Ngesi stated: “My intentions are pure … but only time will show this!”
Ngesi also gave a statement to TshisaLIVE to clarify his intentions: “I understand the backlash and I understand why, because the bigger picture was never communicated to everyone. I am a proud ally and I believe the art form needs to be seen and recognised much more in SA and I am going to do what I can to make sure that it happens.”
Some members of the LGBTQIA+ community felt that Ngesi as an ally should be supporting them and not taking away their opportunities…they felt that it would have been better if he gave the modelling gig to a real drag queen and not one who was acting like a drag queen.
He was also defended by Manila von Teez, who is a drag performer:
“Hey all, in response to the Sivanna post I think everyone is not aware of the bigger picture. I’ve been doing this for just over 10 years, and some drag queens, even longer. Reality is that no matter how hard we worked, South Africa as a whole never really accepted the art form. We have sent hundreds of proposals for sponsorship, brand support etc over the years, and not had positive response or support.”
The rest of Von Teez’s statement is available on Ngesi’s Twitter timeline!
Here are more reactions from the LGBTQIA+ community, tweeps and celebrities who supported Ngesi and who opposed his shoot:
“I love you, but Uhm, this is the definition of take up somebody else’s space. One month vs. Lifetimes of work from revered SA queens-it doesn’t sit right.”
Mmusi Maimaine commented: ” To counter that I would say let’s not unfairly limit Sivianna on her drag journey either by requesting “sufficient time in the industry”. This is what Sivianna wants to do and she gets opportunities then she should go for it. If she is authentic then it must be embraced.”
Image Cred: IOL
My cousin died of Covid , he drove from WC to EC to take care of his Covid sick parents …. his parents are fine but he never recovered! They are blaming themselves! This is so fucking sad
— Siv Ngesi (@iamSivN) March 6, 2021
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