Bryoni Govender will represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant.
Images via Facebook: Bryoni Natalie Govender
Bending rules? Bryoni to attend Miss Universe despite CEO’s ‘rule’
Miss Universe has confirmed that Bryoni Govender – and NOT Natasha Joubert – will represent SA at the pageant later this year.
Bryoni Govender will represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant.
Images via Facebook: Bryoni Natalie Govender
Bryoni Govender – the runner-up to the Miss SA crown, and not the winner Natasha Joubert – will represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant, as confirmed by the latter.
According to speculation, Natasha is exempt from returning to the international pageant after she entered in 2020. At the time, Natasha had placed in the Top 3 of the Miss SA pageant. She did not place in the Top 21 of Miss Universe.
ALSO READ: ‘Put yourself in my shoes’: Natasha Joubert on Miss SA critics
BRYONI GOVENDER TO REPRESENT MZANSI AT MISS UNIVERSE
According to an Instagram post on the Miss Universe page, Bryoni Govender has been selected as the woman to represent SA.
Alongside a clip of the crowning of Miss SA, the caption read: “The new Miss SA is Natasha Joubert, and Miss Universe South Africa is Bryoni Govender.”
On her own Instagram account, Bryoni has been posting messages from family, friends, and fans about her participation in the Miss Universe pageant, which takes place on 18 November in Salvador.
ALSO READ: Rigged? Natasha Joubert’s Miss SA win gets mixed reactions
WHY NATASHA JOUBERT CANT COMPETE
In May 2021, Natasha Joubert represented SA at the Miss Universe pageant. She did not place in the Top 21.
According to pageant enthusiast and YouTuber Rina Hendriks, Natasha may not enter the international pageant again.
ALSO READ: ‘My queen’: Ex-Chiefs star shows Bryoni love after she becomes Miss SA runner up
Hendriks told The South African: “It is a set-in-stone rule that no woman may represent her country more than once at Miss Universe. There was never going to be a way for Natasha to go to Miss Universe again”.
The South African contacted the Miss SA pageant organisers for comment. None was received at the time of publishing.
BENDING THE RULES?
According to Hendriks, Bryoni Govender was the default representative for SA, given Natasha Joubert’s previous compe
However, Miss Universe CEO Anne Jakrajutatip has previously expressed her preference for national title holders to represent their countries rather than runners-up.
ALSO READ:The moment Natasha Joubert was crowned Miss SA 2023 [photos]
In a video posted on the pageant platform Missology, she said: “The winner goes to Miss Universe. The first runner-up, you go to this. The second runner-up, you go to that. I respect the work in the past 20 to 30 years. I admire what you have done, but this is the principle of the company and the organization”.
Hendriks argued that the Thai businesswoman’s preference is NOT a pageant rule.
She told TSA: “The new owner’s preference to have National Titleholders (Winners and not Runner-Ups) ONLY at Miss Universe is just that, a preference. It is not a set-in-stone RULE yet.
“But most countries are encouraged to comply with this and other “preferences” that the new Miss Universe owner has if they wish to remain in her good graces – in theory, at least”.
