The 16th edition of the once-popular Feather Awards has finally come and gone. Held at the 1 Fox, the coveted awards left a bitter taste in the taste of South Africa’s mouth after they highlighted a few discrepancies as attendees gave their best interpretation of the theme ‘Borderless Existence.
The Feather Awards are an awards ceremony that was created to celebrate and honour Africa’s queer icons, regardless of which avenue they take up in the industry. They highlight and celebrate all of those who inspire, support and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community in Africa. Coming at a time when conversations surrounding queerness were taboo, the Awards became a beacon of hope for the queer community in Africa and have become the biggest platform to highlight and celebrate them, particularly in the entertainment industry.
As the years have gone by, spectators and fans of the show have expressed concern over the quality of the awards diminishing with each edition to pass by. This year however, appears to take the cake as the public has come out to call the event out for a lack of preparation and respect for the community and industry at large.
Feather Awards hype is gone and nobody cares. They always look messy and under budget. It time they retire these awards. They have lost the spark.
— Maverick Huzaifah (@DJMaverickZA) November 7, 2024
The event, which was co-hosted by local queer icon Khaya Dladla, Dineo Langa as well as Andiswa Gebasha started off on the wrong foot after the hosts were missing in action.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the allocation of certain awards has also raised a few eyebrows and has put the award show’s credibility at risk. For instance, popular twins Blue and Brown Mbombo were named ‘Couple of the Year’, which had everyone puzzled about how that conclusion came about.
One thing about the feather awards, they don’t make sense. Couple?
— TUMI POWERHOUSE’S PUMPS (@Burnerburnerac5) November 7, 2024
While the ‘Socialite of the Year’ went to Icebolethu, a funeral parlour which might be a more shocking win than the ‘Couple of the Year.’
what the actual fuck?!
Icebolethu Funerals wins Socialite of The Year at the 2024 South African Feather Awards. pic.twitter.com/OIYTaLKG7X
— Musa Khawula (@Musa_Khawula) November 7, 2024
