Picture: Idols South Africa/Twitter
Laurence Qwabe, father of Viggy and Virginia, the twins who took Idols SA by storm, has spoken out about his daughters’ exit from the show. Virginia did not get enough votes to stay in the top 5, but her sister Viggy did, only to pull out of the show.
In a statement on Monday, Mzansi Magic said Viggy withdrew from the competition after discussions with their family, production company and the channel.
Though her exit sparked allegations of bullying from fellow contestant Snenhlanhla ‘Sneziey’ Msomi, Idols SA denied the allegations.
The channel and Idols SA said in a statement: “The Qwabe twins have confirmed that they were not bullied in any way.
“The channel does not condone or tolerate bullying between contestants. Ziggy withdrew from the competition on her own accord and her decision is fully supported by her family and the channel.”
Addressing bullying allegations, Sneziey wrote on Instagram: “I have never and will never bully anyone but kuyosizani to talk when everyone has made up their minds about me. I wish all that you have believed was firmly stated by the twins and sadly it wasn’t.
“Konke okwenzekayo I won’t stand and defend myself; I have no words to it but I wish when the truth comes out your apologies will come flooding my dos and my posts like those insults did. May the good Lord see you through.”
The family has since raised eyebrows after alleging that the competition was rigged.
Viggy left a few hints in her Facebook post when she said they were aware that they would not win the competition and that one of them would be eliminated on Sunday.
Viggy said she was not leaving because of her sister’s elimination.
She said: “I am not a quitter, I am not quitting because o Wele was eliminated. We are both strong and able to stand on our own. We were both aware that we both won’t win and one of us would leave, but not in the way it was done yesterday.
“I cannot stay when that has happened to my sister. Thank you for your love and support. We appreciate all your hard work. God bless you.”
Talking to the Daily Sun, Laurence alleged that information was leaked on Wednesday showing plans to eliminate one of the twins to protect male contestants.
He told the tabloid: “We got information through insiders who felt sorry for the twins and also from those who see the counting process. The judge was asked who was going to be in the top two and he said the names.”
Laurence said everything that happened on Sunday was as he was told on Wednesday, and said he removed Viggy to save people from wasting their votes if the winners had already been decided.
The Sowetan has reported that police had to be called in to defuse tensions between the Qwabe family, fans and the Mzansi Magic production team as they threatened violence on Sunday.
Philly Kubheka, HOD for PR & Publicity Local Entertainment Channels, told The Sowetan Laurence was outraged by one of the judges who said one of the twins might go home.
Kubheka was quoted as saying: “The competition is not rigged and votes are verified by independent auditors.”
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.