Miss SA slammed for bikini pics, but supporters say criticism is form of GBV

Supporters of Shudufhadzo Musida leapt to her defence on Tuesday morning when critics slammed her for posting 'bikini pics'.

She became South Africa's sweetheart when she was crowned Miss South Africa 2020 at a glamorous event in Cape Town in October.

But on Tuesday Limpopo-born Shudufhadzo Musida was under fire from some Twitter users who felt the University of Pretoria graduate was reneging in her duties by posting 'half-naked nudes' rather than messages of 'motivation'.

South Africa is in the middle of a crisis and our Miss SA is busy serving us half naked nudes, no motivation or positive input of our current state of affairs in the country!!! 🙄 pic.twitter.com/popVRw84NC
— m a s h e s h a 🇿🇦 (@dollar_mashesha) January 19, 2021

We love u but u can't always come here to post urself half naked.U r Miss SA.Ur voice Matter.U need to say something to comfort families who have been losing their loved once or to encourage young girls who are looking up to u,they can't only see pics of urself half naked.
— Tshogofatso Lekgaolo (@lekgaolo) January 18, 2021

But people quickly came to Shudu's defence and wasted no time putting the haters in their place.

'Ya deserve 2 rock whatever ya want' said one user.

While another suggested people's criticism of the model stemmed from their own insecurities.

"Why do you love dictating how people should be. A lot of you here need to heal from your own insecurities."

Dear miss SA @abigailmusida and miss universe @zozitunzi please enjoy this life without regret because the hate is real. Don't listen 2 thsese 24/7 social media employees. Ya deserve 2 rock whatever ya want, to say whatever ya want, etc.Many of your haters hate where ya come from pic.twitter.com/WgayHqnbcT
— welcome back (@keep1249) January 19, 2021

All I can say is y’all are so mean. From the day she entered Miss SA you made her journey hell. So what if she wants to post her beautiful bikini pictures. Why do you love dictating how people should be. A lot of you here need to heal from your own insecurities.
— YT: Masechaba Kobola 💛 (@chabikobola) January 19, 2021

For some, the criticism of Shudu's pictures spoke to deeper issues relating to misogyny and gender-based violence in the country.

'We still have a long way to go', said one Twitter user.

GBV will never end for as long as there are men who still feel entitled to womens' sense of style. We still have a long way to go pic.twitter.com/B6KnxoSrli
— IG: Yolanda_g_cover (@Yolanda_Gcover) January 19, 2021

Meanwhile, Shudu seemed unfazed by any negativity, later posting another picture to Twitter with the caption 'One more for hate'.

Speaking to CapeTalk following her win in October, the 24-year-old claimed she had been bullied growing up because she was Venda.

"I was bullied because I was Venda. I had to endure bullying for seven years... I just got to the point where I didn't want to fit into a mould where people think it's okay to look down on people based on where they come from... Where you come from does not determine where you are going to go."