According to All4women, Idols SA judges, producers and even the show’s host, Proverb, have been accused of trans-phobia after making fun of a contestant whose gender was not immediately clear.
An open letter in the Huffington Post has called on Idols SA judges to apologise to a contestant who auditioned on one of the show’s recent episodes, Arshen Madlopha. After Arshen finished singing their rendition of Beyonce’s hit song, Halo, the judges engaged themselves in a debate as they attempted to figure out if Madlopha was male or female.
Guest judge Kelly Khumalo begins by asking if “it is a girl” before unathi adds “It’s a girl”. Meanwhile, Randall and Somizi are convinced that “it is a boy”.
Watch how it all unfolded, right after Arshen finds out that they will not be making it to the next round:
https://twitter.com/IAmAFallist/status/891763417706614784
Host, Proverb, is also heard in the voice over questioning if Arshen had let both the boys and the girls down.
It didn’t take long for South African Twitter to catch wind of this discrimination
Ex Idols singer, Melanie Lowe was among the critics:
Disappointed at the #TransphobiaOnIdolsSA @IdolsSA. As an LGBTI community member I'm ashamed to be an Idols Alumni right now.
— Melanie Lowe – Everything Mellow (@melanielowe) July 31, 2017