Miss World Botswana Lesego Chombo asked her countrymen to stop criticizing Megan Young for touching her hair during the question-and-answer portion of Miss World 2024.
It can be recalled that Megan, who was crowned Miss World 2013, tried to fix Lesego’s hair.
Some Botswanian netizens accused Megan of performing witchcraft against their candidate to remove her confidence during the pageant.
However, Lesego believed that the criticism thrown by her countrymen against Megan would not help her cope with her loss.
“Batho Bame (Good People), I appreciate that you are all looking out for me, but it really doesn’t make me feel good when you bring other people down in my name or for my sake. Please be kinder, please to (Miss World 2024) Krstyna Pyszkova, to Megan, be kinder,” she wrote.
Megan already released an official statement, saying that she already apologized to Lesego, saying that she was not aware that touching someone’s hair was inapproriate in their culture.
“Last night during the final, I fixed Lesego Chombo’s (Miss Botswana) hair on stage. I wanted to offer a helping hand but I failed to oversee the bigger picture. This could have caused distress during that moment and I have been made aware that culturally, this is unacceptable,” she said.
“We have spoken privately last night at the hotel and I have apologized to Lesego in private. To those who witnessed the incident, I also want to apologize for any discomfort or confusion my actions may have caused. It was a thoughtless and disrespectful act, and I take full responsibility for it,” she added.