questioned by some of her fellow competitors in this year's Miss SA Pageant
A controversy has erupted over the results of the most recent Miss South Africa competition as a group of disgruntled contestants have come forward to claim the pageant was rigged in favour of the winner, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters.
With a R1 million prize package, it was inevitable that the competition would be fierce, but what has transpired over the last few days is a first in the South African pageant industry. Amongst the accusations that were thrown at the Miss South Africa Organisation and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is the fact that she had an unfair advantage as she was being trained by pageant trainer, Werner Wessels, and that she had a personal relationship with some of the judges, like former Miss South Africa's Claudia Henkel and Melinda Bam.
As someone with more than 25 years worth of knowledge of the beauty pageant industry, I would like to share my (very strong) opinions about this matter:
First of all, I find the claims that the judges would favour Demi-Leigh absolutely RIDICULOUS. As former Miss South Africa's, Claudia Henkel and Melinda Bam would naturally get close to the girls as they would be seen as role models for the girls. Claudia currently works for Sun International as their PR manager and she is actively involved in organising the Miss South Africa Pageant. Of course, she's going to spend a lot of time with the girls and get to know them. She was also probably on hand to see their highs and lows... and of course their nasty sides when the pressure got too much. As for Melinda Bam, she no longer works for Sun International and has no stronger affiliation than any other Miss SA that is part of the Sun International family and Miss SA sisterhood.
These girls are moving into dangerous territory with their claims that the judges favoured Demi-Leigh. The judges who were chosen to pick the next Miss South Africa are all industry professionals. They have careers and it is highly unlikely that they will be willing to sacrifice their careers, integrity and longevity in the industry to boost the career of a 21 year old girl from the middle of nowhere in South Africa. They have got nothing to gain by that and everything to lose.
When you are asked to judge a pageant, you are asked to do a job. That job is to make a very tough decision. It's part of a competition and in competitions you have winners and losers. I don't understand the big fuss about all of this as beauty is subjective and as judges they were actually asked to have a favourite, which they clearly did. Can someone send a memo to these girls to explain how these things work?
I will use the top international pageants as examples to conclude my argument. Miss Universe allows members of the Miss Universe Organization to help as they spend three weeks with the girls. The job can't be left to judges who barely know the girls. The reason and purpose behind this is to try and find the girl who can do this year long job. This is not just true for Miss Universe, but also for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. They have no time for girls who don't fit their brand's image. Miss World is even more serious about this. Due to some serious diva-ish behaviour by some of their former title holders, which have caused major trouble behind the scenes and tarnished their brand, they no longer ask celebrity judges to choose the winner. The whole pageant serves as a month long interview process and the Miss World Organisation has a huge say in who gets to have the honour of being Miss World.
Still feel unhappy with this? Well, it's time to get over it, because when you put R1 million up for grabs and a further R1 million in other prizes, you have the right to select a representative that will be THE BEST of the best. And just to put it out there: sending girls to Miss World and Miss Universe ain't cheap. In fact, it could cost between R250,000 and R500,000 in franchise fees, preparation fees, wardrobe, tickets and pocket money... and that's a very modest estimation.
How did he do it? Well, he had an "eye for beauty" and it also took good old hard work and preparation by the girls and his team. The team included a choreographer and an actress who showed the girls how walk, act and speak to an audience.
In the 1990s, when Doreen Morris was in charge, workshops were held to empower the girls. In the 00s Sun International actually had scouts and they were encouraged to find girls who they thought would do well and they were free to guide and advise the girls. In fact, I even believe winning scouts were rewarded for their efforts. Some of the most well-known pageant fans in SA like Louis Fourie, Adrian Skelly and Wayne Stafford acted as mentors to some very familiar names of the past.
With 5 excellent Miss South Africas and even a Miss World under his belt, you would think it would be pure logic that girls would flock to him for advice. Anyone who followed Rolene's Miss World reign would know that she looked flawless every single time she appeared at an event. They would also know that she credits him for that and that she even mentioned that he was available 24/7 just in case she needed him.
So, I will say it here. I will gladly be a character witness for him. He has been nothing but kind, humble and gracious every time I have contacted him. And I have even had the honour of meeting him in real life when I was on holiday in South Africa. He has integrity in abundance and I would never ever even contemplate questioning his motives or honesty. Does he have a 100% success rate? No, he could not help Marilyn Ramos advance at Miss World or Miss Universe. He helped Reabetswe Sechoaro last year and she was the biggest fan favorite to win the title as she was clearly the most gorgeous and glamorous of the goup, but the judges did not agree and crowned his other girl, Ntandoyenkosi Kunene. So, with regard to this matter: if making your clients feel beautiful, confident, glamorous, special and most of all LOVED is a crime, then go ahead and lock him up!!!I rarely say terrible things about beauty contestants, because I have realised that there's so much more to this than we see at home. This time, I am feeling really annoyed by the behaviour of the Class of 2017 and I feel that perhaps seeing that there's already so much nastiness out there, it won't hurt to share my honest feelings.
Demi-Leigh was by far the most beautiful girl in this year's competition. When I recently watched the actual pageant on YouTube, I just came to the realisation that the competition was not even as close as I thought it was. She was just in a league of her own. The international fans who voted in my blog's leaderboard clearly agreed.
Now, admittedly, I was annoyed with the judges. Some of the most beautiful girls were eliminated and did not make the top 12. I felt there were actually too many personality queens in this year's group. The runners-up would not even make a minor impact internationally. They are just not strong enough. Priyeshka Lutchman should probably have been named the runner-up. I also feel four of the most beautiful girls were eliminated when the top 12 were cut to the top 8. There was clearly way too much emphasis on personality, but that's an issue I have. I respect the judges' decision, even though I find the runner-up, Ade's reaction with all that eye rolling and head shaking disgusting. I respect that the judges found her second best (just based on that I would have placed her dead last) but I am glad that she was second as she is clearly not cut out to be a role model and ambassador for South Africa. I think we have enough people in those positions who do not deserve it as it is. The greatest champions win with humility and lose with grace. (Not lose with disgrace!) (Actually, I have so much more to say, but I really don't want to be a horrible person. It's just not worth it.My advice to Demi-Leigh would be: don't let this get to you. To all the people who know and understand this industry, you were the clear winner and you still remain the clear winner. Enjoy your reign. You go higher as they go lower... and your revenge can be to bring home another international title. As for the Miss South Africa Organisation, perhaps it's time to rethink your judging process... perhaps it's time to reveal your score sheets to shut this controversy down once and for all... and perhaps it's time to get a good set of lawyers and do what Donald Trump did to Miss Pennsylvania USA back in 2013. Make it an expensive lesson for some of them.
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