Miss Universe and Trevor Noah shine

You don’t get more proudly South African moments than Trevor Noah interviewing new Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi on The Daily Show.

With state capture, unemployment and load shedding making headlines for all the wrong reasons daily, it is wonderful to break that cycle with South Africans making it on the big stage.

However, it wasn’t all good news as the newly crowned Miss Universe opened up about online abuse she received after winning the Miss South Africa title earlier this year.

“It’s been interesting since winning Miss SA. I’ve enjoyed incredible, yet challenging support. I’ve got a new look many people aren’t used to. I got a lot of comments from people online who were underwhelmed with me – calling me a downgrade from what we’ve had. That then became international criticism,” said Tunzi, the third South African woman to win the Miss Universe title.

“I didn’t wear a wig. This is my hair, that’s why I didn’t change it. Why should I? It’s no strategy, I’ve had short hair for years and I wasn’t going to change it…”

The Springboks winning the World Cup for a third time was also one of South Africa’s success stories of 2019. Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi, like Tunzi, hails from the Eastern Cape. And Tunzi hopes fairytale stories like hers and Kolisi’s will inspire people back home to achieve greater things.

“I come from a village called Tsolo in the Eastern Cape. It’s one of the most impoverished places in the country,” said Tunzi. “It’s difficult to make it out of there. This feels like I’m giving an element of hope to everyone back home.”

We salute both Noah and Tunzi for making their mark globally. We salute Tunzi, in particular, for standing up to abuse and making a statement by staying true to herself.

May 2020 produce many more South African stars.

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