Sour Grapes Or Serious Abuse?

A Mrs SA finalist claims she was bullied and humiliated by the organisers. They beg to differ

- Cyril Blackburn

It's a beauty pageant that’s meant to empower women and do its best to support the nation’s fairer sex. But things have sure turned ugly for Mrs South Africa in the past few weeks.

Chandré Goosen-Joubert, one of the 25 Mrs South Africa finalists chosen in 2020 to compete for the 2021 crown has levelled a series of damning allegations against the pageant organisers and its nonprofit affiliate, Women4Women.

The empowerment organisation is the “baby” of Miss SA 2002 Cindy Nell-Roberts – she founded it and has her heart and soul invested in it.

Chandré claims the contest is nothing more than a money-making racket – and the matter has now landed up in the high court.

Chandré claims that during her year as a Mrs SA finalist she had to fork out nearly R2 million from her own pocket for expenses and “worked like a slave” for the organisers.

“I feel abused, bullied and humiliated,” Chandré says. “I’d been in a relationship for nearly nine years in which I was physically and emotionally abused on a near-daily basis – that’s why I entered. I’d been able to process the trauma of my past and was hoping I could empower other women with my experience. But now, after the contest, I’m broken again.

“To them I was just a pawn – one who happened to be good at fundraising. Behind the scenes I was screamed at and mistreated.”

Chandré has also alleged there was suspicious activity around thousands of rands of Women4Women funds that had been earmarked for charity.

At one stage she asked her husband, Olof Joubert, “What am I doing here?”