Miss SA faces Twitter fury as her graduation goes viral for all the wrong reasons

Miss SA faces Twitter fury as her graduation goes viral for all the wrong reasons

Shudufhadzo Musiḓa received a massive amount of backlash on what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life.

Miss SA Wits Graduation
WITS University Official Facebook

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.

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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:

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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?

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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.

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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?

Stacey and J Sbu podcasts
East Coast Radio

Main image courtesy of Wits University Official Facebook

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