Siv Ngesi took to social media to reveal his drag personality, Sivanna’s shoot with Adidas and Ivy Parker.
Siv Ngesi posted a shoot of Sivanna in Ivy Parked and Adidas captioned, “Sivanna is a month a 2 days old and she’s already shooting with @adidasza @weareivyparker”
Unfortunately, the shoot wasn’t welcomed warmly. While Siv falls under allys in LGBTIQ+A, members of the LGBTIQ community lashed out at him for taking opportunities that would otherwise belong to drag queens.
Siv Ngesi’s Sivanna gets backlash as she models Ivy Parker
However, Siv respond to the backlash by explaining his position with Adidas.
“As an adidas ambassador, I was sent two outfits. In hindsight, as a heterosexual man, I should have worded the caption differently. I do understand the issue that people have, but give me the benefit of the doubt. I am a drag queen and I hope that we can get to a point where different rules don’t apply to me because I am straight. and other drag queens are in talks with major brands to create big projects that will benefit the community.
We want drag to be seen differently in South Africa and we are working towards that”.
Manila von Teez, a drag performed who is well known for her drag performances took to Instagram in support of Siv.
“Hey all, in response to the Sivanna post I think everyone is not aware of the bigger picture. I’ve been doing this for just over 10 years, and some drag queens, even longer. Reality is that no matter how hard we worked, South Africa as a whole never really accepted the art form. We have sent hundreds of proposals for sponsorship, brand support etc over the years, and not had positive response or support.”
Siv earlier this year made headlines for going drag for the #bussitchallenge as he created a drag character, Sivana. Beyond nd the challenge, Siv has continued to do photoshoots with the character and publish more about her.
“I’ve always loved drag. I’ve always wanted to get involved in drag. I watch a lot of content that is drag. Last year, I played in a rugby team that was more gay men – I was the only straight one – so I’ve always wanted to be involved in it. ” he said.