Siv Ngesi channels his inner drag queen for Pride Month
Siv Ngesi performed a Whitney Houston song dressed up as his alter ego, 'Sivanna', but his fans joked it was more Rebecca Malope than Whitney.
Siv Ngesi is celebrating Pride Month by embracing his inner drag queen.
'The Woman King' actor dressed up in full glam for a special performance of Whitney Houston's 1993 hit, 'I Have Nothing'.
Dressed up as his alter ego, 'Sivanna', the 37-year-old lip-synced to the Whitney classic while wearing a sparkly off-the-shoulder one-piece and sky-high heels.
"I love doing drag," Siv wrote on Instagram.
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His followers were impressed with his performance. "If there were ever a 'Drag Race SA' Sivanna would be the perfect host," one user wrote.
Another commented: "I don't think "WOW" is enough. But WOW." But some of Siv's followers joked that he was giving anything but Whitney.
"That performance was more like Rebecca Malope than Whitney," one man joked. Siv took the remark in his stride and found the comment hilarious as well.
He replied with several 'face with tears of joy' emojis.
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Siv first introduced his fans to 'Sivanna' in 2021. His drag queen persona caused quite a stir with many assuming that he wanted to highlight homophobia in South Africa.
But he denied the claims in a 2021 Interview with SowetanLIVE.
"I didn't create Sivanna to make any point. She's not an activist. I've always wanted to do drag. I've always been passionate about drag, people have always known that about me but I'm not trying to make a statement at all. I just want to be a man in a dress and makeup when I want to and from there I can go pole dancing and then I can box and play rugby," he said.
Siv also set the record straight about his sexuality when asked if he was gay or bisexual.
"... it is no one's business what my sexuality is. But now, because of this drag thing, it's definitely opened up a can that I've had to explain more that I'm actually heterosexual, but I will never ever in my life answer someone who asks what my sexuality is if they're making the other side 'negative'.
"And to answer your question, no, I am not fabulous enough to be gay!" he said.
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Pride Month 2023
International Pride Month is drawing to a close all over the world. Gay pride is celebrated every year during the month of June.
Several events and activities are planned throughout the month with the LGBTQIA+ community taking centre stage.
Businesses also show their support by incorporating the rainbow flag into their branding and including members of the community in their campaigns.
Woolworth received backlash earlier this month for its 'WPride' campaign. The retail giant encouraged its customers to "be an ally". Rainbow stripes and colours were seen in some of its stores, and there were also posters with pictures of same-sex couples.
Some called for a boycott of the brand. But Woolworths stood its ground.
"We are committed to promoting spaces in which everyone is accepted, protected, respected, and celebrated, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, who they love, or how or whether they worship. During International Pride Month, our WPride campaign acknowledges the extent to which certain groups in our society are marginalised by celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community.
"The WPride campaign forms part of the Woolworths Inclusive Justice initiative, a group-wide strategy aimed at realising our bold transformation vision to inspire inclusive growth for all our people and our commitment to ‘leave no one behind’," it said in a statement.
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Watch Sivanna's full performance below.
Main image credit: Instagram/@sivngesi
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