South African singer Tyla
Tyla, the South African singer, has reacted to the controversy surrounding the nationality of Chidimma Adetshina, the 23-year-old model of Nigerian heritage who took part in this year’s Miss SA pageant.
Chidimma was recently subject to controversies over her eligibility to participate in the country’s beauty pageant.
The beauty queen was born in Soweto, South Africa. She is believed to be of Nigerian (dad) and Mozambican (mum) heritage.
The controversy surrounding her nationality rapidly gained traction on social media platforms last month after she qualified for the round of 16. Some X users — predominantly from South Africa — had called for her disqualification.
The South African ministry of home affairs would later launch an investigation to determine the nationality of Chidimma.
On Wednesday, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) for South Africa alleged that preliminary evidence suggests Chidimma’s mother may have committed fraud and identity theft.
The model pulled out from the Miss South Africa pageant following the investigation.
Chidimma said her decision to withdraw from the competition was for the “safety of my family and I”.
In a post via her X page on Saturday, the ‘Water’ singer said though she will “always stand with South Africa,” she feels how her countrypeople treated Adetshina was “wrong”.
The Grammy winner maintained that she does not “stand for bullying”.
“I will always stand with South Africa. I just feel regardless of the opinions, she was bullied and that’s what I don’t stand for,” she wrote.
In another post, the 22-year-old also said she was “disappointed” over what happened to Chidimma while encouraging the model.
“Disappointed that this happened to her, but wish you all the best girl. Kill it!!!!,” she added.
The tweets, however, sparked criticisms from South Africans, some of whom accused Tyla of “misrepresenting her country”.
Barely a day after pulling out of the South African competition, Miss Universe Nigeria invited Chidimma to participate in its 2024 pageant.
