It’s been a hectic start for Olga Lombardo, the new Miss Belgium, but also a start that has been marred by racist comments on social media. I got a call about it from BBC News, she told VRT and was interviewed live on air.
Olga relates her story with a smile, but says she didn’t enjoy the comments, but they don’t make her sad either: ‘I assume these are frustrated people and I can’t do anything about that. They are a minority, exceptions. No, I wasn’t surprised. My mum prepared me. She said this would happen one day. She’s black, from Gabon. She has experienced racist situations’.
VRT’s interviewer Riadh Bahri is embarrassed to read out some of the comments: ‘There’s nothing Belgian to it’. ‘Belgium has gone down the pan’. ‘Congrats, Miss Belgium. Is this a reflection of society?’
‘These people are disturbed’ responds Olga. ‘The comments are usually full of spelling mistakes’.