Mr South Africa 2019 defends its top 20 finalists from social media critics

Mr South Africa pageant released its top 20 finalist list and went straight to the top of the Twitter trends list, with South Africans criticising the list for a number of reasons.

The pageant has, however, not shied away from defending its choices, saying there were criteria used to decide on the list that did not only depend on the contestants’ physical appearance.

Responding to a Twitter user who said the list was tragic, MR SA said: “What is? That some guys showed more courage than most other guys, worked themselves to the bone to get here to make a difference for their country? Yes, we agree. Tragic.”

Though the men have been criticised by most on social media, Mr SA said these were good-hearted men who had good intentions for our country.

“We are not a stereotype competition. Our contestants are real people, not photoshopped to perfection models. We look at our contestants’ integrity before we judge them on appearance.

“When judgment is passed as constructive criticism, we listen, our contestants and finalists listen, but when it is pure judgment based on somebody’s perception of what Mr SA must be? Would you want to be treated like that? Legit question there. Not fighting.”

These were some of the comments on social media:

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