Zozibini Tunzi apologises for her own social media posts
Reigning Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi has spoken up for the primary time after Miss South Africa hopefuls suffered a backlash after their offensive tweets were unearthed by social media sleuths, last week.
The social media storm started brewing when the Joburg-based model Bianca Schoombee’s old Twitter posts were unearthed, leading to her withdrawing from the competition.
A few days later another Miss South Africa hopeful, Oneida Cooper’s problematic posts also resurfaced on Twitter.
Tunzi, who is currently based within the US, says the social media wrath urged her to travel back to her own Facebook page to see if she has previously posted or shared offensive content.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday morning, she posted a six-minute video clip, where she apologizes for her own “insensitive” social media posts.
She said: “I have had tons in my mind, most of it coming from a conversation that has been happening around the country with regards to a Miss South Africa entrant, whose tweets were recently dug up and delivered to light.
“Through those conversations, I noticed a specific pattern, where there have been people that made me as an example.
“People who said’ check out uZozi, she has no skeletons in her closet, she should be the quality that each one these women should search to. When I saw that, it hit me…I was taken aback…when I read those things (comments) I said ‘surely I’m human, there must be some mistakes that I’ve made.”
Tunzi adds: “I can’t really be as perfect as I’m made bent be. which scared me, to think that’s the quality that folks hold me up to. So due to that conversation, I took it upon myself to truly attend my Facebook…back to once I first created the account in 2012 to ascertain what I posted during that point.
“I went in to see , and that i saw tons of things that I’m pleased with , tons of things I had said about myself, about others, things that ring faithful who i’m , then I saw other posts that I’m not so pleased with .
“I saw posts that I shared on Facebook that were very insensitive, posts that ought to haven’t shared or posted. i used to be so disappointed with myself and I’m crammed with shame that i might have thought it had been okay to share that at that point .
“So, i would like to to require the time to apologise for those posts that I shared, to apologise to anyone that’s or was suffering from those posts. Just to mention that those posts are in contrast to who i’m and everything that I represent .
“For the past nine months as a name , I even have made my voice very clear about the items that I represent , and therefore the things that are important, in telling women to require up space, to empower themselves and to use their voices, not just for the betterment of themselves except for the betterment of others.
“And these words still ring true today, to who i’m , due to that I felt it only right to form this video and face this head-on with you guys. I realise that we sleep in a society that’s so desensitised when it involves social issues.
The beauty queen went on to encourage social media users to be mindful of the content that they share and to take responsibility for the things they publish on social media and the consequences of their actions.
“We should be careful of the things that we share even if we think it’s an offhand joke because some things aren’t just funny and shouldn’t be said. I’m really hoping that we will be mindful of the things we say and share and the ripple effects that mind have on the world and others.
“Once again, I want to apologise from the bottom of my heart and to everyone who have put in a certain standard, I’m so sorry that I have disappointed you. I hope that you can continue to look at me as somebody that you can still take something from, somebody that you can still learn from. I really am sorry., says Tunzi.
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