Sent out a strong message about attitudes towards beauty after being crowned
South African Zozibini Tunzi
Miss South Africa was crowned Miss Universe on Sunday in Atlanta after a lavish ceremony filled with glitter and heartfelt speeches about female empowerment.
Zozibini Tunzi, 26, finished first ahead of the Puerto Rican and Mexican finalists in a flashy televised event, hosted by American comic turned TV personality Steve Harvey.
Television personalities Vanessa Lachey and Olivia Culpo served as backstage commentators, and a panel of seven women determined the winner.
Tunzi earned cheers during her closing speech, a new segment of the competition, in which she talked about wanting to empower young women to feel confident.
“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,” she said.
“I think that it is time that 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,” she said to thunderous applause.
Tunzi beat more than 90 contestants from around the globe in the 68th instalment of Miss Universe, which was held in Atlanta’s Tyler Perry Studios.
The two runners-up for the crown were Miss Mexico and Miss Puerto Rico.
“If you do not use your beauty for your life’s mission, it’s just an empty ornament,” Sofía Aragón, representing Mexico, said earlier in the competition.
Madison Anderson represented Puerto Rico.
The two favorites ahead of the competition, Miss Thailand Paweensuda Saetan-drouin and Miss Philippines Gazini Ganados, did not make it to the final 10.
The Philippines’ Catriona Gray, who presented Tunzi with the crown, took home the Miss Universe crown in 2018.
Gray spoke during Sunday’s pageant, saying the past year has been “unforgettable, life-changing and purposeful.”
“We’re getting this amazing platform to voice the things we’re passionate about, the things we care about,” she said in a video. “I always had a voice, but Miss Universe allowed me to amplify it.”
The pageant has had a controversial past. Multiple contestants have alleged that US President Donald Trump would regularly enter the competitors’ changing room while he owned the organization from 1996-2015. Additionally, Miss Universe continues to host the swimsuit competition, which has drawn criticism for objectifying the contestants, although that part of the pageant was not televised.