Government Withdraws Its Support for Miss South Africa

Government Withdraws Its Support for Miss South Africa. It doesn’t rain but pours for Miss SA 2021 title holder, Lalela Mswane. She continues to make headlines as more people calling for her to boycott the pageant. This request comes after the cruel treatment of Palestinians at the hands of the apartheid Israel regime.

Palestine Solidarity Alliance has also accused the beauty queen of not caring about the plight of Palestinians and being “worried about her own self gains”. A couple of days ago, Miss South Africa organizers released a statement in which they stated that Mswane will continue with the competition despite the backlash. “We are not a political organization and The Miss Universe pageant is not a politically inspired event,” part of the statement read.

As more pressure mounts in, the South African Government decided to withdraw its support for the beauty queen. is going to Israel as an individual who only represents the Miss SA organization. In a statement they shared, the Government said unsuccessful consultations which were initiated by the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, has proven difficult to persuade the Miss SA pageant organizers to reconsider their decision to partake in the Miss Universe event.

“What during initial consultations appeared like engaging, constructive and progressive discussions, was later met with an unpleasant demeanor that is intransigent and lacking appreciation of the potential negative impact of such a decision on the reputation and future of a young black woman.”

“If anything, by withdrawing, Miss South Africa’s reputation and overall standing will be far more advanced in South Africa and internationally in comparison to a once off event that can prove disastrous to her future and public standing as a young, black woman.” .                                                  

“Our first preference was to try and find each other so as to issue a joint media statement. This has regrettably been unsuccessful, hence the decision now to publicly distance Government and the people of South Africa from Miss SA pageant organizer’s stance on this matter”, said Minister Nathi Mthethwa. “But even so, we still hope some common sense will prevail in the interest of the reigning queen, Lalela Mswane; and we remain open for discussions in that regard.”explained Minister Nathi Mthethwa