Mia Le Roux Makes Miss SA 2024 History As 1st Deaf Winner, Burna Boy Throws Shade at Race Debate

Mia Le Roux Makes Miss SA 2024 History As 1st Deaf Winner, Burna Boy Throws Shade at Race Debate

  • Miss South Africa settled on a new beauty queen to represent the country following the Chddimma Adetshina controversy in the competition
  • The Miss South Africa 2024 pageant took place in Pretoria on 10 August 2024, and South Africans were keen to see the winner
  • Ten South African women were chosen as Miss SA finalists and they competed for the crown for only one of them to come out on top

Miss South Africa's 2024 beauty pageant took place at the Sun Bet Arena Time Square Menlyn in Pretoria. On 10 August 2024, Natasha Joubert, the reigning Miss South Africa 2023, passed on her crown.

Burna Boy pokes fun at Miss SA 2024
Mia le Roux became Miss SA 2024 and Burna Boy expressed his disapproval over her win after the Chdimma Adetshina saga. Image: @mialeroux / Instagram / Joe Maher / Getty Images
Source: UGC

Miss South Africa 2024 was marred in controversy because of former finalist Chidimma Adetshina. The contestant's citizenship came into dispute, causing her to withdraw, and she was replaced with Kirsten Khan and Kebalepile Ramafoko.

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Miss South Africa crowns new queen

Mia le Roux (28) made history when was declared the new Miss South Africa as the stunning model impressed judges with her inspiring story.

According to The Citizen, the marketing manager from Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape rose against the odds and found success despite a hearing loss diagnosis as a one-year-old. Mia was born in Sasolburg Free State, and she says that her community made sure she received the necessary treatment so that she was able to soar in life.

Burna Boy weighs in on new Miss SA

Nigerian artist Burna Boy quickly reminded many of the controversy surrounding Miss South Africa over Chidimma. The Miss South Africa hopeful was said to be half-Nigerian, which caused an uproar. It was later revealed that her South African identity may have been fraudulent.

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Following Mia Le Roux's crowning, many on social media, including Burna Boy, complained that South Africa did not want a fellow African running for the crown only to end up with a queen of European descent.

SA backs new Miss SA

Many people did not take kindly to Burna Boy's tweet. South Africans rallied behind Mia, saying she deserved the win.

@KwaneleN00 commented:

"Better than an identify thief, crime beneficiary."

@SciyandaSithole wrote:

"A South African citizen born and bred, with legitimate citizenship, she is not fraud!"

@unclescrooch said:

"You make a mistake by commenting on this stuff. Or maybe you’ve made the choice to never perform in SA again? They will pull out this tweet to make sure no one buys your tickets."

@KevinAndile_ declared:

"You must never set foot here, stay there."

@B__master backed Mia:

"She's ours. Miss South Africa and we are proud she won. Take care of Chichi for us there. Burna Boy hasn't forgiven South Africa for not buying his tickets on his last show that was cancelled. This tweet of his got bitterness all over it."

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@BafanaSurprise added:

"She didn’t steal anyone’s identity, she is was born here. And has proper documentation to confirm that she is a South African."

What you need to know about Mia Le Roux

Mia le Roux, a 24-year-old from Sasolburg in the Free State who was raised in Oudtshoorn, now resides in Rosebank, Cape Town. Diagnosed with profound hearing loss at just one year old, she attended the Carol du Toit Centre, a special school for children with hearing impairments, from ages one to five.

Unlike many children who grow up with their mother tongue, Le Roux's first language is sign language. Her pageantry journey began in school, where she accumulated several titles, including Miss Struisie and Miss Garden Route, and earned a top-five spot in Miss Deaf South Africa.

Chidimma withdraws from Miss SA

Briefly News previously reported that Miss SA finalist Vanessa Chidimma Adetshina turned social media upside down with her statement.

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Social media has been chaotic since the start of Vanessa Chidimma Adetshina's saga of her being part of the pageant.

The 23-year-old model and student recently withdrew from the Miss SA competition two days before the formal event. This was after the Department of Home Affairs unveiled that Chidimma's mother likely committed identity fraud on an innocent South African woman.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Rutendo Masasi avatar

Rutendo Masasi (Human-Interest editor) Rue Masasi is a Human Interest and Entertainment writer at Briefly News who graduated with a BA (Hons) in English from Rhodes University in 2018. Rue also has 2 years of experience in journalism and over four years of experience as an online ESL teacher. She has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her via email: rutendo.masasi@briefly.co.za