On My Guest Tonight with host Annika Larsen, former Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane opened up about how the backlash she received after attending Miss Universe in Israel affected her mental health.
The Miss SA 2021 winner’s trip to Israel became quite controversial. The country is referred to by many as an apartheid-like state, with the government’s treatment towards the Palestinians described as discriminatory. Not only did Lalela receive backlash from the public but from the government too. The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture had even issued a statement, withdrawing their support for both Miss South Africa and Lalela.
Despite the lack of support, Lalela placed second runner-up at Miss Universe 2021 and became Miss Supranational 2022.
While speaking to Annika in a recent interview, Lalela said, “So, I win Miss SA, and prior to winning, it was announced by the organisation that whoever wins is going to Miss Universe in Israel. I didn’t pick the location, this was known prior, it just happened to be that I won.”
She states that she and the Miss South Africa Organisation decided to proceed. “I said, ‘Regardless of where Miss Universe was going to be held, I would be going.’ It’s a competition, it’s part of the job as Miss SA. The decision was a joint decision, it was a very informed decision. I do feel like it could have been handled in a more sensitive manner.”
Lalela also states that the reason she was silent about the decision at the time was because if she had said something, she would have still been criticised.
The pageant winner then shares that due to the cyberbullying, she contemplated committing suicide. She felt she had no more fight left in her to counter what was being said about her.
“At a point, I actually wanted to die by suicide, because I absolutely got to a point where I couldn’t handle it. I was like, ‘I will jump and die, fall to my death, all because of people who don’t know me?'”
