Zozibini Tunzi - Becoming Miss Universe and Fighting Gender-Based Violence | The Daily Show

congratulations thank you missing universe has it sunk in yet I don't think so I think this is like my almost a week now and yeah and I think I'm getting used to it because the first people would be like Miss Universe and I just continue going Jupiter please this universe it is a surreal experience I mean like because you won Miss South Africa and then you go on this journey to you know to compete for Miss Universe and I mean you know it's amazing women from all around the world the competition has evolved over the years to become more about like what the women are thinking as well as how you look and what you want to do in the world so it is a challenging experience to me aren't like what was this journey what has it been like for you oh it's been interesting since I won Miss South Africa and finding out that I would be doing Miss Universe as well it was incredible the support that I got from back home but it was challenging as well because I had a new look that people were not used to and so I got crowned and I got a lot of different responses but I was those quite excited about it regardless of what was happening in what way tell me tell me about the responses because that's interesting because a lot of people might think that would be something that happens like in a western country in another but this was in South Africa yeah you had one a prominently black country and yet there were people who said to you hey we love you but but yeah so I first won and I got a lot of comments where you know a lot of people said oh is this the one this year she's so underwhelming I got comments like she's a downgrade from the others that we've had and this was only from people in in in my country as well and then it got more international as people find found out that I was going to do Miss Universe and then international people as well started you know commenting in and I think my most interesting was the one was when I came to New York for the first time I think about four months ago I came back to South Africa it was quite it was late in the evening and I took a photo from my apartment and I was like aww such a beautiful night and a comment came in and I chuckled now but at first I was like what this guy says all this photos the so black it's as black as you are miss black ugly South Africa and I think yeah it's quite and I think it was in that moment where I was like I'm not even mad I'm not mad because I think it's just how society has labeled Beauty to be it's just how we've been programmed to look at a beauty that way you know the farthest you are from being fair is the uglier you are and I just saw it as an education moment because I remember putting out a post you know just speaking about it speaking about colorism speaking about racism speaking about how people need to see things in order to start believing in them right and that was that was a big thing especially for you and I think so many people who saw you being crowned Miss Universe was it was a moment where many people and this is what really interested me I was proud as a South African I was proud as somebody who's grown up on the continent but what really got me is how universally I mean for our for our planets many people said to see a dark-skinned woman win an accolade like this but then to see a woman with natural hair win this with her natural that's what a lot of people initially want to be the change people were like why don't you get a weave why don't you straighten you beautiful but why don't you just straighten your hair there must have been a challenge why didn't you straighten your hair why didn't you wear away yeah because this is my hand this was the first question I don't think anyone tells other people to put on the weave so why why should I you know for at first people like was this a strategy I'm like to watts to wake up and be my job no it's not a strategy I've had you know short hair for three years and I wasn't going to change because I was now stepping into a beauty platform because then that means I don't think my hair is beautiful if I'm gonna change it and so I decided to keep it you kept it and you've also you've also kept many of the causes that you've been passionate about you know a lot of the time beauty pageants are associated with a superfluous world but but as I've said over the years things are changing the focus is changing what people are trying to do is changing it and you've taken on a really powerful issue and that's been gender-based violence which is which is far from like a flowering issue that many people would want to tackle why gender-based violence and and what would you hope people would understand in and around this conversation you know for me I think my my my thing began when I won Miss South Africa and femicide and gender-based violence is very big back home and I realized that it's not only a South African thing it's a global issue because we have things like the me2 movement we have things like the times up movement you know women are fighting all over the world to be safe again and in this world which is you know it's quite crazy to me to have to have movements where we're fighting just to be alive just to keep our lives and I like to say you know women are an endangered species those days I feel like one day we're just gonna wake up and you know there's no women anymore so I know right that's that's why I'm in a lie that would be horrible yeah and so my thing is about gender-based violence is to bring in the men that's always been my main message because people will ask women what do you think we should do to fight this and I'm like why are you asking me you know I'm not the perpetrator in most of the instances why don't we call out on the people that really beautiful because you have sparked the conversation not just in South Africa but on all the platforms you've taken around the world and saying hey we need men to be a part of this conversation we need to be engaging men and saying hey here's how you can do better here's what you can do to be better here's our men can call other men out in making women safe because it's it's the men who are the perpetrators in in this case you are a week into being Miss Universe yeah but it is now a journey that is going to take you over the course of a year it'll feel like a lifetime it'll be over in a moment what are you most looking forward to what are you excited to achieve what do you what do you what do you just want to do in this period of your reign I'm so excited to travel the world I must say though New York is so cold oh when I got you I was like I'd really love to fill my toes one more time yeah I'm so excited to travel the world I haven't really had the opportunity to travel before and I think this is I'm gonna be quite an interesting one for me I'm excited to have my messages and everything that I'm passionate about to just go across the globe and one thing I always say is I don't want to feel like when I step out of this crown that it was wasted I want to be responsible with it and now I have a platform of you know I have 2.5 million people thank you following to use that platform whatever I do it must just be purposeful work you know but also to build my brand as well because when people ask me what is this for you personally right I mean I say it's the beginning of building generational wealth for my family because it's not it's not something that we've had that is one part of your story that I think a lot of people will be surprised by because you know it can often happen with the first time people see you you're wearing a crown you're wearing a beautiful gown or a dress and and people go like wow this has always been you but part of the reason many South Africans were proud is because of the story that came before your victories and I was you came from humble beginnings yes I do I grew up come from a village good Solo in the Eastern Cape something yes yeah I come from a village and you would know but you know they wouldn't know how it is the Eastern Cape I think is one of the most impoverished places of the country while I was fortunate enough to have a mother who's the school principal and my dad who worked I'm least I was able to go to school but things are quite different but other people who grew up there right and it's quite difficult to make it out of there and so I think because I grew up there and people saw me growing up there now you know I'm Miss Universe it's it's it adds like an element of hope to people who feel like they couldn't have been able to do it before it's hopeful not just those people or people who look like you people who do look like you people with hair natural hair natural everything and we just want to be inspired yeah that's what you do thank you so much those are beauties everybody [Music] [Music] you

Channel: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Views: 1,192,026

Keywords: the daily show, trevor noah, daily show with trevor noah, the daily show episodes, comedy central, comedians, comedian, funny video, comedy videos, funny clips, noah trevor, trevor noah latest episode, daily show latest episode, daily show, trevor, news, politics, daily show interview, interview, Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe, pageant, Miss South Africa, South Africa, racism, natural hair, weave, causes, gender-based violence, abuse, women

Id: kbpm61gTJbY

Length: 9min 5sec (545 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 24 2019