Miss SA top 12 finalist Chidimma Adetshina has had to deal with a barrage of online trolling and xenophobic attacks aimed at her heritage.
Born to a Nigerian father, the model was forced to defend her place in the beauty pageant. An online petition calling her for removal from the pageant gathered steam, despite her being born in Soweto and being a South African citizen.
Politicians and celebs weighed in with their hot takes on the issue. Some came to her defence while others briskly admonished the Miss SA Organisation for allowing Adetshina’s entrance into the competition.
During an interview with Sowetan Live, the 23-year-old law student questioned whether it was worth entering Miss SA following the tons of backlash she’s received.
Chidimma admitted she accepted criticism. “But it’s just a matter of you trying so hard to represent a country, and you wear it with so much pride and so much grace, and the people that you’re representing are not even in support of you,” she said.
An interview with a man claiming to be her father has also gone viral. The unknown man was interviewed on the Ben Stesh podcast and claimed he first came to South Africa for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
“I am Nigerian and my wife is South African, and I have lived in South Africa. I spent 10 years in South Africa,” he added.
The video soon went viral on social media, forcing Adetshina to issue a warning on her IG Stories.
“The individual in question claiming and impersonating to be my dad is NOT MY FATHER,” she wrote.
https://t.co/s4T8ibFfem pic.twitter.com/YWJWcW7VZ4
— 2022 AFRICA (@2022AFRICA) August 1, 2024
X users (formerly Twitter) realised they were taken for a ride.
“It makes sense coz why the heck didn’t they show his face…..it’s just a voice,” commented an online user.
Another said: “It’s probably a South African mimicking a Nigerian accent. People have time.”
Words: Fame Frenzy
