Lady May toughed it out

Reality TV is one of the most controversial issues of contemporary society. Immoral acts such as nudity, sex and alcohol are intertwined aspects of the unscripted melodramatic world of reality television.

And when a person like Lady May - fresh from an incident that angered the entire country last year at the NAMAs awards – entered a show like the Big Brother Africa reality show, the worst can naturally be expected.

Think of what many must have expected when they heard the controversial songstress was the country’s representative in the Big Brother House this season. Vulgar language, sex and obscene gestures worse than those witnessed at the NAMAs last year.

Anyone thinking the opposite would have been called naive and out of touch with Namibia’s entertainment industry.

In a world where reality TV shows are fueling a cultural shift, especially among women, Lady May with stood the test. She overcame temptations and made not only her family but the entire country proud. What a show she had!

Her infamous ‘goodnight mother****’ and middle-finger gesture at the music awards earned her more enemies than friends. Days later, she found the courage to apologise for what she termed was a lapse of judgment but few wanted to hear her voice anymore. Few cared for whatever she had to say.

Many suspected she had sniffed something illegal prior to the show, while others thought she might have been intoxicated. When she said she does not drink even a Savannah Dry, many suspected her of ‘lying’ to them.

Her behaviour was taken so seriously that she was stripped of the award that she won on the night and the prize money that goes with it. Co-sponsors NBC banned her music from both their TV and radio airwaves and MTC said she was no longer welcome to the awards. Who could fault Albertus Aochamub and Tim Ekandjo for their decision?

Any serious business leader would have arrived at the same conclusion – at the same time.
But Namibia saw a completely different Lady May when the BBA show started. When her female housemates, including one of Namibia’s other contestants were kissing and snogging men in the house, she was studying her opponents.

It was not surprising that the other Namibian contestants were chucked out of the house, was it?

Lady May behaved like a true ambassador. In her, the ideals of Namibian society were reflected.