Miss South Africa top 12 finalist, Levern Jose (23), from Kimberly Northern Cape, has withdrawn from the Miss SA beauty pageant competition. Her withdrawal from the competition came right after she was accused of bullying other learners during her schooling days.
Everything went South after the top 12 finalists were announced, with Levern Jose being part of the top 12. Soon after, former high school mates went on social and accused Levern of bullying other learners at school, and allegedly leaving them traumatised.
Miss South Africa organisers shared their sentiment regarding Levern’s withdrawal from the competition by saying; “The Miss South Africa organization does not condone bullying of any kind. We accept Levern’s decision to pull out of the competition and respect her for owning her truth and focusing on her healing.”
Social media users certainly do keep track of the past events, because it is not the first time a Miss SA contestant withdraws from the competition. Back in 2020 Miss SA contestant Bianca Schoombee also had to withdraw from the Miss SA competition after her old tweets with racist remarks, surfaced on social media.
The previous week, Levern Jose apologised to the bullying allegations by saying; “I learned how to protect myself from bullying during my schooling years. If my actions in protecting myself caused any harm to anyone, I offer my sincere apologies.”
“Please know that I am determined to work against bullying to bring about wider awareness about this issue.” Says Levern.
Levern further mentioned that this whole situation has negatively affected her wellbeing. Miss South Africa organisers fully support Levern Jose’s decision and will provide her with counselling through the South African Depression and Anxiety Group.
Levern Jose’s Twitter account is now on private mode. People on social media are divided over Levern’s decision to withdraw from the competition.
“If I were her, I wouldn’t withdraw. She would be giving into unsubstantiated internet bullying.” Says @sirboring_26 on Twitter.
“In life if you do good, good will follow you. If you do bad things, it’s only one day that it will catch up with you and devastate your heart.” Says @musayamwa007 on Twitter.
“It was high school! Who hasn’t done something they regret in high school? Says @autoZee on Twitter.
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Written by: Prince Neo Mokwena
Images: Miss SA
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