“Publicity”: SASMA Awards Fuss Brews As SA German Makes Cut Over Local Food Influencer, Mzansi Sus
- A new debate is brewing for Mzansi online as another South African competition involving SA talent sees a notable shake-up
- It comes as an SA-German citizen, Nara Smith, gets a SASMA Food Influencer of the Year nomination over local Onezwa Mbola
- The clamour went into overdrive as parallels were drawn with the recent Miss SA beauty pageant, captivating the online community
Source: Twitter
Yet another competition involving South African contestants. Yet more drama.
The South African Social Media Awards (SASMA) is seeing its fair share of theatre amid a nationalities controversy.
It involves a South African-German food influencer, Nara Smith, who was nominated over Eastern Cape-born cook Onezwa Mbola.
SASMA Awards fuss brews as SA German makes cut
Naturally, fans and observers argued that 29-year-old Mbola should have made the eight-person shortlist for the Food Influencer of the Year award ahead of Smith, who grew up in Germany.
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The argument progressed to a presumption that Nara's nomination could be a publicity ploy, with parallels drawn to the Miss South Africa (SA) pageant.
Despite the furore surrounding Chidimma Onwe Adetshina's participation due to her Nigerian heritage, the ratings for the live event to crown the eventual Miss SA weren't negatively affected.
On the contrary, more viewers tuned in to watch the finale — 1.7 million compared to 1.08 million in 2023.
Thus, the debate centres on Smith's SA connection, her influence compared to local influencers such as Mbola, and the appropriateness of her nomination in a national award context.
Mzansi enters new debate
Many questioned why Nara, who left the country at a young age and later obtained German citizenship, was chosen over more locally recognized figures.
Briefly News scanned the comments to sass out the most interesting reactions.
Entertainment commentator @PhilMphela said:
"I guess the SASMA's learned a thing from Miss SA. Don’t miss an opportunity for free publicity. They knew nominating Nara Smith and snubbing Onezwa Mbola would create an online furore. Rage bait much? Well, we're talking about SASMA now."
Throngs of online users replied under Mphela's mentions.
@Kharrotie wrote:
"And we hardly talk about them."
@NeneLeakesWigs reacted:
"It's tiring. South African organisations are really so damn lazy."
@MetjahLeague mentioned:
"Well, it’s disgusting. Doing all this at the expense of real people instead of just putting in the work is insane."
SA surges Chidimma Adetshina into early pageant lead
In a related news story, Briefly News reported that Chidimma Onwe Adetshina's participation in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant, although ravaged in another uproar, is already shaping up to be interesting.
Social media was thrown into a frenzy after the voting process officially opened on Friday, with early results showing Adetshina enjoying a lead.
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Source: Briefly News
