Famed public persona Sarah Langa found herself at the backend of outrage after an old clip of her sharing views on ‘pretty girl privilege’ resurfaced on social media.
Watch: Sarah Langa talks ‘pretty girl privilege’
The video footage that’s gone viral was a short snippet taken from Festive Get-Together in The Life Artois, a branded series where singer and Idols SA judge Unathi Nkayi hosts in-depth conversations with people of interest.
This episode, featuring Langa and Kefilwe Mabote, was the second instalment of the series that aired in December 2020, and the ladies touched on a number of topics, ranging from the intricacies of life in the public eye; their dealings in business; and misconceptions about beauty.
The latter is where Langa’s comments on ‘pretty girl privilege’ stemmed from, and as poignant of a point she may have made about how attractive women generally have it easy, it didn’t sit well with many.
Here’s the snippet that’s had social media in an uproar all weekend:
Sarah Langa on pretty girl privilege ❤️ She captured it so well. I’m glad she is aware of it and not denying it pic.twitter.com/SAb4zwObrh
— Mampho B (@mampho_b) June 4, 2021
For a better understanding of the discussion the ladies had, here is the full episode of Festive Get-together in The Life Artois:
Social media divided on Langa’s comments
For many viewers who had probably only seen the snippet shared on Twitter, Langa’s comments were not welcomed, let alone Nkayi’s unwillingness to challenge her views.
These were some of the reactions we picked out from social media.
Lol, it’s funny cause this is the hate that she’s talking about in that video. The whole world is trying to uplift women who don’t feel pretty based on what society has deemed as pretty, Beyoncé has been doing it for a while, Sarah Langa does it and it’s suddenly questionable
— Niniza (@Siza28096617) June 6, 2021
Khanyi Mbau once explained to Pearl Thusi why she opted for skin bleaching due to societal pretty girl privilege standards. Pearl Thusi blatantly denied the notion/ Khanyi’s experience and got offended. You all are her up. Sarah Langa is owning up to it, you eat her up still. ♀️
— Ziphozethu (@Makwande__) June 6, 2021
It's the fact that we all could understand what Sarah Langa was trying to say but we're so deep into this culture of shaming that we miss the opportunity to educate/correct politely.
— Vuyo (@LadyinPR_Cpt) June 6, 2021
