Uproar as Zimbabwe`s Mister Ugly winner deemed `too handsome`

The Guardian :Judges have crowned a new winner of Zimbabwe’s 4th annual Mister Ugly contest, upsetting supporters of the crowd favourite and prompting violence at the event.Judges on Saturday chose 42-year-old Mison Sere, citing his numerous missing front teeth and a wide range of grotesque facial expressions, over William Masvinu, who had held the title since 2012.Masvinu and his supporters mobbed the judges upon hearing their decision, claiming that Sere was “too handsome” to win and his ugliness wasn’t natural since it was based on missing teeth. “I am naturally ugly. He is not. He is ugly only when he opens his mouth,” maintained Masvinu, gesturing at his rival. “Do we have to lose our teeth to win? This is cheating,” shouted another contestant, Patrick Mupereki.Zimbabwe’s three-times Mr Ugly winner William Masvinu poses for a photo in Harare.While no one was injured, there was a great deal of pushing and shoving as the results were announced and insults were hurled at the judges.Beauty pageants are popular in this southern African country and even though they are typically for women, scandal is not unusual. Earlier this year, Miss Zimbabwe winner Emily Kachote faced a backlash on social media, with Zimbabweans calling her ugly and undeserving of the crown.She was later forced to step down when just two weeks into her reign, images surfaced of her posing nude – which incidentally also brought down her predecessor.Sere dismissed the critics as just “sore losers” as he pocketed the $500 in winnings.Mison Sere reacts, top, after winning the 2015 edition of the Mr Ugly competition, in Harare. “They should just accept that I am uglier than them,” he said. “I hope to get a TV contract. I already moved around schools performing and showcasing my ugliness so this is a chance to make it on TV.”The complaints of Masvinu and the other contestants may have a degree of validity. Organizers had previously announced that disabilities or enhancements would not be accepted in the competition which should focus on “natural ugliness.”Pageant organiser David Machowa originally said that he began the contest to remove the stigma of ugliness. “Looks are God given. We should all be proud of who we are.”