Miss Plus Size Universe Botswana queen fired
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday January 13, 2017 11:18
According to the pageant director Gorata Kekgethile, Tumagole who was supposed to represent the country at the Miss Plus Size Universe Beauty pageant to be held in Trinidad and Tobago on March 4, 2017, was disqualified because they could not work with her anymore.
“We had communication problem. She didn’t attend gym and diet class as required and doesn’t have weight reading, which disqualified her in Trinidad. She is not groomed to represent the country and we have a month left to catch up before the competition,” she told Showtime.
Kekgethile added that other reasons for termination of the contract were that the disqualified queen cannot walk in heels and she has not been preparing for the pageant.
In a press release, Kekgethile stated that Natasha Olopeng who was the second princess would represent the country. It explained that Gabby Mochudi who was the first princess did not meet the weight requirements any longer and therefore she could not substitute the queen.
“Due to unfortunate circumstances that we have been aware of regarding our client, we would like to apologise to all our sponsors and supporters for substituting her. This decision was not based on the director, but the sponsors,” it stated.
During an interview with Showbiz, Tumagole who was evidently surprised by the decision, said she was not informed about that decision. She further pointed out that Kekgethile did not give her any guidance or advice on how to behave as the reigning queen. She however dismissed all the allegations from the pageantry director saying that rather, she was the one who seemed to give more attention to the pageant than the director.
“My relationship with Kekgethile was fine until I asked her to meet with my parents as my father wanted to know when I would be given my price money. She had failed to give me my P10,000 prize money. She also failed to meet with my parents after I was crowned and so my parents asked me to arrange a meeting with her regarding the grand finale at Trinidad and the prize money as I had to take a cab from home in Mogoditshane to mee her,” she said.
Tumagole added Kekgethile kept on postponing her meetings with her (Tumagole) parents. She said she was given a total of P7,000 on installments. She also added that she was never given any documentation that guided her on her behaviour as the reigning queen, but she was surprised when Kekgethile accused her of misconduct.
“She was always on my case about my posts. I don’t know why she couldn’t tell me which posts were allowed and those that I was not allowed to post. I asked her which posts I was supposed to post on my Facebook page and asked if she wanted to manage my account, but she did not say anything. I didn’t see anything wrong with my posts because I did not post any nude pictures or pictures with alcohol and neither did I post petty quotes or anything politically related,” she said.
The evidently aggrieved queen added that she could not go to the gym as she had to focus on her studies. She said she wanted to start gym classes this month because she had exams in December last year. However, she pointed out that even though she had been taking supplements since last year, she could not lose 100 kilogramsme in three months as Kekgethile expected. She further stated that she had a weight reading and that she gave it to the director.
She added that she was asked to look for sponsors, because Kekgethile could only take care of her visa and tickets to and from Trinidad. However, Tumagole pointed out that after finding potential sponsors, Kekgethile kept on postponing to meet them until she informed her that she could not meet with them, because she wanted to terminate her contract.
“Kekgethile further told me that we were supposed to meet before the decision could be finalised and I am surprised to hear the media calling me saying my contract is terminated. I feel unfairly dismissed. Kekgethile had to discuss this matter with me before she could send a press release,” she said.