“I will not be slamming her [Ntombizodwa Makhoba] back because of the article she wrote speculating whether I am pregnant or not,” said Alberton’s Sasha-Lee Oliver and reigning Miss SA 2019.
This follows an article published by City Press on June 14 titled “Is she or not?”
“This should rather be a teachable moment where journalists should realise there are larger things such as gender-based violence that they [City Press] could have focused on.
“I am disappointed that she chose to use their platform to hit me and bully me. I can take it but somebody else can’t. We want to be better than this and we need to build people, not break them down.”We need to be responsible since we are the voice of the voiceless. They did get a comment that the answer to their question is ‘no’ and they still went ahead and published,” Sasha-Lee said.
Firmly behind Sasha-Lee is the Miss South Africa Organisation which, in a statement, said the organisation is appalled with the article which speculates Sasha-Lee is pregnant. It further states the journalist who wrote the article, Ntombizodwa Makhoba, contacted the organisation on Saturday afternoon via email.
The Miss SA Organisation stated it replied timeously to City Press, stating categorically that Sasha-Lee is not pregnant.
The organisation is of the opinion that the disregard of their official response led to City Press publishing a shallow article which degrades and discriminates against Sasha-Lee. The organisation said it is horrified about the story which was published in a week where President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke out against gender-based violence.
As part of the 2019 campaign, Sasha Lee stood as an advocate for fuller figure women and expanded on the organisation’s prior representations of beauty.
Stephanie Weil, CEO of the Miss South Africa Organisation, said: “We were blessed in 2019 to find Zozibini Tunzi and Sasha-Lee Olivier, who have been embraced by South Africans as real and inspirational women – women who have been praised and accepted worldwide for their unconventional beauty.
“One of the major changes under new management of the organisation was to create a voice for women who have been scrutinised for the public’s perceived opinion of beauty. “We wanted to provide a platform for all South African women, of all shapes and sizes, to take up space and lead our country.
“For this reason, we strongly feel we need to take a stand against an article like this. The media plays a crucial role in influencing the lives of young women.”
The Miss South Africa Organisation said it will be taking legal advice and action.
• The RECORD contacted City Press’s journalist via email, asking for comment from her and /or her editor, upon which the RECORD received a phone call from the managing editor stating they prefer not to comment until such time they receive a letter from the Miss SA Organisation, which they have been waiting for.
