The South African government has withdrawn its support for the Miss South Africa pageant after the organisers insisted on participating in the Miss Universe competition, to be held in Israel on 13 December.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture issued a statement saying they had failed to come to an agreement with the Miss SA organisation after “unpleasant” discussions.
“The atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented and Government, as the legitimate representative of the people of South Africa, cannot in good conscience associate itself with such,” it said.
Minister Nathi Mthethwa said: “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 organiser’s stance on this matter.”
Mthethwa added: “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.”
Last week, Miss SA Organisation CEO Stephanie Weil said they were thrilled to be able to make the 24-year-old beauty’s childhood dream – to wear the crown while representing her country globally – come true.
Weil said Lalela has spoken out openly about being bullied as a child: “She will not be bullied as an adult against fulfilling her ambition.”
She added that a “very, very small, but extremely vocal, group” including #Africa4Palestine, had attempted and failed to derail Lalela’s chances at the international pageant.