Spicy Mr South Africa claps back at finalist hate: 'You only need a good heart'
The organisers of the Mr South Africa pageant revealed the finalists for the competition on Thursday morning and it's been dominating conversation on Twitter as people debate the beauty standards of the competition.
What started out as people questioning why some of the contestants were chosen, insinuating that they were not good looking, soon turned into a debate about the beauty standards of the pageant industry.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Mr South Africa Official (@mr.southafrica_official) on
Pageant organisers did not respond to requests by TimesLIVE for an interview at the time of publishing this article. However, on the official Mr South Africa Twitter page organisers stood by their choices.
"We look at our contestants' integrity before we judge their appearance," reads one tweet.
In responding to criticism about the contestants, Mr South Africa said that the pageant was not about stereotypes.
"Our contestants are real people, not photoshopped, perfect models."
Standing firm on integrity being the cornerstone of the pageant, the Twitter page for Mr South Africa spent hours challenging beauty perceptions.
Do you want a man with a good heart or a guy that is not dedicated or cheats?
— Mr South Africa (@MrSAofficial) April 24, 2019
Actually no. We are real. So are they. What makes ppl ill is your judgment of other humans
— Mr South Africa (@MrSAofficial) April 24, 2019
Please invite them to enter then
— Mr South Africa (@MrSAofficial) April 24, 2019
The debate soon turned to the requirements for Miss South Africa, which have previously been criticised. Some of these are that contestants cannot be married or have tattoos.
If the Mr South Africa account says that the Mr SA contestants only have to have a "good heart" then the same should apply to Miss South Africa.
— Mbaliyezwe Ndlela (@mbali_ndlela) April 25, 2019
It would be nice to see a Miss SA with an afro, a curvaceous Miss SA etc. We are tired of seeing the same face win.
It’s weird that for years everyone’s (rightly) complained that Miss SA pageants are patriarchal, shallow and about looks and yet everyone is now dunking on the Mr. SA contestants for their looks.
— Alexander Themistocles (@XandVenturas) April 25, 2019
Google Miss SA 2019 and Mr SA 2019 and then you see how it feels being single and going out. pic.twitter.com/t9izrF6iKB
— Lesego Tlhabi (@LesegoTlhabi) April 25, 2019