Miss SA faces Twitter fury as her graduation goes viral for all the wrong reasons
Updated | By Stacey and J Sbu
Shudufhadzo Musiḓa received a massive amount of backlash on what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life.
There are many important, monumental, and memorable special days that will occur throughout your lifetime.
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The birth of your child, your wedding day, the day you moved into your own home, your first job, and, for many of us, the day we graduated.
While it would seem obvious that these days are generally associated with happiness and should be a joyful experience, many of us are not that fortunate.
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There might be bad weather, an unruly guest or friend, and just like that, the day could take a turn for the worst.
Our very own Miss South Africa's graduation quickly turned ugly after she shared her graduation pictures.
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Shudufhadzo Musiḓa has officially graduated with a BA Honours in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and like any other proud student, she was excited to share her accomplishment with the world.
The Wits social media accounts also posted a few videos and pictures showing Shudufhadzo with her degree, all dressed up in her gown and crown.
🎓👑💯WATCH: "Dreams are valid, I never thought I'd be sitting here today...to every single graduate, to every single student who feels like this is really tough, you are going to make it through, you are going to succeed, you are going to graduate," Miss SA, Shudufhadzo Musida. pic.twitter.com/VQwajUcsmt
— Wits University (@WitsUniversity) July 20, 2021
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However, Twitter users were quick to point out that every other student graduating from Wits had to attend a virtual ceremony and were not granted the opportunity to attend physical graduations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feeling angered and frustrated with the unfairness of it all, some directed their Tweets towards the university and others decided to aim their responses at Shudufhadzo Musiḓa herself:
What Wits did was pure discrimination. Now Miss SA is caught up in their mess which is obviously detrimental to her and the Miss SA brand.
— ツ Ø ͏ Ʀ ͏ ł ™ ͏ ͏ ❼ (@Ori_Debig_Beats) July 20, 2021
All students wrote the same exams during a pandemic, under the same conditions & setting, hence they all deserve to be treated equally.
she's no less of a Miss SA, or any less influential in her home and behind her laptop screen.
— rato (@Rato_K) July 20, 2021
so yes, graduates are mad... rightfully so.
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Others were quick to jump to Miss SA's defence, with their main argument being that seeing as she holds one of South Africa's most influential and well-known titles, shouldn't it be expected that she would receive preferential treatment?
And is it fair to get upset about it when this is common practice with celebrities?
You are literally asking why Miss SA is being treated like Miss SA 😂😂 https://t.co/7k22YUvG77
— Marcus Jr. 🦁 (@dumisane_) July 20, 2021
Same people whoo pretend to be advocates of mental health are facilitating this relentless social media bullying of our Miss SA, Shudu.
— Kewns hate me🇿🇦 🇿🇦 (@SneKhumaloSA) July 21, 2021
She hasn't caught a break since the beginning of her reign.
Yall are bullying her. And pretending it's about other graduates.
This is wrong.
Big ups to Wits University for showing Miss SA that she's most definitely Miss SA. What a great honour by the Institution ❤️🇿🇦👑👸.... Jealousy will kill y'all. pic.twitter.com/z56BPi3xk7
— Beckham ⚽⚽⚽🤞🏽 (@MikeDandala) July 20, 2021
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Things have become so heated that Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi has even been dragged into the debate, as users say that the amount of hate and bullying towards Shudufhadzo is completely unjustified and no one would have reacted this way had Zozi done the same thing.
We're partially contributing to the problem of not recognizing her whenever we refer to her as "the new miss SA" while Zozi isn't referred as "the former miss SA"
— Rebotile (@RebotileHK) July 21, 2021
Her name is Shudufhadzo, or affectionately called Shudu just as Zozibini is Zozi. https://t.co/JYKAnSGYl8
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But everyone can take a deep breath because it seems like all the controversy was for nothing!
After seeing Shudu in her graduation gown, many just assumed that she had a physical graduation. If they were thorough with their research, they would have noticed that in her post on her personal Instagram, she mentioned that she had attended the virtual graduation, like her fellow students.
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As it turns out, the only reason she was even on campus was to conduct an interview with vice-chancellor Prof Zeblon Vilakazi.
There was no ceremony, no calling of names, only Miss SA in her graduation attire:
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Even though it has now been confirmed that she did not receive any preferential treatment or a physical ceremony, people are still upset at the way it's been handled.
Will Wits or Miss SA have to issue an apology? Was she able to celebrate the rest of her special day or was it completely ruined by the backlash?
Guess we'll just have to wait to find out.
Until then, we have one question to ask: should we treat celebrities as our complete equals?
Main image courtesy of Wits University Official Facebook
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