PRESS STATEMENT: Miss South Africa u-turn disappointing, brand to face serious damage
09 November 2021
Earlier today the human rights organisation #Africa4Palestine released a statement welcoming the intended withdrawal of Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane from the upcoming Israeli hosted Miss Universe.
However, this afternoon, the CEO of Miss South Africa Organization/Company, Stephanie Weil, through her publicist Janine Walker, made an announcement on behalf of Miss South Africa, that Miss Lalela Mswane will still be proceeding to the Apartheid State of Israel. This u-turn is disappointing. CEO of Miss South Africa, Stephanie Weil, clearly supports Apartheid Israel by defending the indefensible.
It is clear to us that there are divisions within the organization and company of Miss South Africa. We had, in fact, been reliably informed of Miss Lalela Mswane’s withdrawal from the upcoming pageant in Israel, but it seems that there has been interference and pressure, with Miss South Africa now making a u-turn and reversing the withdrawal decision.
In our statement released this morning we had indicated that we were looking forward to an official announcement but now that the Miss South Africa company/organization is intending on still proceeding with traveling to Israel, we thus have no option but to embark on a vigilant campaign including protest actions to reject this sellout position.
If Miss South Africa, the organisation, continues on insisting on travelling to the Apartheid State of Israel, then the Miss South Africa brand may irreversibly lose its respect in South African society, who have come out vocally on this issue. The Miss South Africa brand is getting uglier by the day by ignoring the history of South Africa, by disregarding the suffering of the Palestinians and by dismissing its own supporters who have urged the company to do the right thing and not endorse the Apartheid State of Israel.
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