Model Chidimma Adetshina, who finished second in the Miss Universe contest, proudly spoke about her roots after making history at the competition. As she finished in second place and became the highest-placed Black African in the contest since South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi won in 2019, Adetshina, who was born to a Nigerian father and a mother with South African citizenship, proved that she remains undeterred despite facing xenophobic attacks.
More about Chidimma Adetshina
“I’m so proud of myself and I just made history,” Adetshina said after the contest, BBC reported.
According to the BBC, government officials said the model’s mother, who has Mozambican roots, gained her South African citizenship illegally. Despite the criticism, Adetshina has earned the titles Miss Nigeria, Miss Africa and Miss Oceania. She also competed in the Miss South Africa competition.
Adetshina was a finalist in the Miss South Africa contest. However, she quit after South African officials suspected her mother of committing “identity theft” to obtain her South African citizenship. Adetshina later received an invite to the Miss Universe Nigeria competition and won the contest.
What she’s said about negative comments on social media
Speaking to the BBC in September, she said she now needs therapy after continually dealing with hateful comments on social media.
“These are just the little barriers, you know, that sort of divides us,” Adetshina told the outlet. “It’s just us needing to know when and how we need to, you know, start accepting these differences and not actually making them a barrier to separate us.”
