South African media personality, Somizi Mhlongo, has weighed in on the Clicks saga that has gripped the nation for the past week. Whilst overall agreeing with the outrage felt by South Africans, the Idols judge took time out of his busy schedule on Monday, 7 September 2020 to share his opinion on the subject matter.
Somizi began by emphasising the fact that he did not agree with the ad campaign, and that it was undeniably racist. He believed that if they had used women of the same race to demonstrate healthy and unhealthy hair, it would have made much more sense, however, due to the fact that they had labelled black women’s hair as damaged, it was inexcusable.
The media star was cautious in laying down his overall feelings first, before sharing a little more of his opinion which sided with the retail company. He stated that black people tend to treat their hair often, leaving it damaged because of the products – which is why they had referenced to the black woman’s hair as unhealthy.
He went on to explain that black South Africans have had a history of being too forgiving, which has resulted in them being mistreated over the years. He predicted that once the issue has blown over, people will return to Clicks to purchase their cosmetics, as they would have forgiven the company for their misdemeanour. Somizi believed that it was because of this behaviour, people feel as though they can use black people as example in negative situations, as it is assumed that they would move on from it.
He stated, “Clicks are not the first ones and they definitely will not be the last ones because the reason why the world disrespects us is because we tolerate sh*t and we tolerate kak. We forgive very quickly. We have been taken as slaves and up to now, we are [at peace]. What you allow continues, we have allowed all of these things and it will continue. From the Apartheid government, we forgave. Racists know they can get away with [anything].”
