Miss SA speaks about how 'hurt' she is about rigging allegations

Newly crowned Miss SA Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters has revealed that she is 'hurt' by the allegations that she 'received preferential treatment' during the pageant and she is adamant that she earned her crown.

Sowetan reported that there was speculation the pageant had been "rigeed" because of favouritism, Demi-Leigh has said she won the title on merit.

"Of course it does hurt to hear these allegations. I believe that all the girls really put their hundred percent into this competition, it was a tough competition," she said.

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She said that the claims are "unfounded", adding that all her interactions with the judges were in the presence of the other contestants. The article reported that the judges were biased as Demi had a personal relationship with some of them.

"I completely deny those allegations, because it is really not true. The only interactions I had with the judges were during the official judging sessions and all the girls were present," she said.

Demi-Leigh also explained that one of her charities "fell through" in the process of the competition and that she had hoped "for the girls to be supportive" instead of "breaking each other down".

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She added that she would have loved "to see these strong young women stand together" even after her crowning. But the newly-crowned Miss SA revealed that she expects people to always have something to say, as it is part of having the title.

"I think people want to see you do good but never better than them. You need to work hard and stay focused," she said.