The annual Miss Universe pageant has been met with its fair share of controversy in the past. There was that awful moment in 2015 when host Steve Harvey announced Miss Columbia instead of Miss Philippines as the winner, that racists video (you know the one) and of course, the fact that the pageant still has a swimwear category in the wake of the MeToo era.
However, this year, it feels like we’ve finally had a breakthrough. For the first time ever, the titles for Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and now, Miss Universe are all held by black women. The newly crowned Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa, joined Miss America Nia Franklin, Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, and Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris.
When Tunzi graciously accepted the crown, she took a moment to reflect on the importance of shifting beauty standards and celebrating “black girl magic”.
“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me — with my kind of skin and my kind of hair — was never considered to be beautiful,” the 26-year-old said during her closing statement. “I think it is time that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face, and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”
Tunzi is the pageant’s first person of colour to win in eight years (let that sink in) – since Leila Lopes from Angola took home the crown in 2011. Many of your favourite celebrities and industry leaders also took note of her achievement and Oprah even tweeted to congratulate Tunzi on her win.
I think we can all agree that this is a step in the right direction and social media definitely agreed. Keep scrolling for some of the best tweets from the historic moment.
