WATCH | Bulgarian singer slammed for black face during ‘Jerusalema’ performance

Bulgarian singer Mihaela Marinova has faced international backlash after dressing in black face to look like SA songbird Nomcebo Zikode for a TV performance of Jerusalema.

Mihaela underwent a huge transformation ahead of an appearance on Bulgarian TV music competition Kato 2 Kapki Voda, which tasks singers with recreating popular hits from around the world.

She later performed Jerusalema on stage, to much applause, but it was her impersonation of songstress Nomcebo that got fans and social media users around the world fuming.

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams shared a video of Mihaela taking off her black face, and shared her disgust at the impersonation.

The video also went viral on social media in SA, with Nomcebo topping the Twitter trends list as people urged her and Master KG to take Mihaela to task.

Others questioned how black face could still be happening in 2021 and questioned how no-one on the production felt the need to raise a red flag over the incident.

Mihaela has not responded to the public outcry. Master KG and Nomcebo have also not commented on the incident.

This is not the first time the show has come under fire. It was criticised last year for mocking Korean K-Pop culture after a contestant impersonated BTS’s Jimin and the show's hosts allegedly said the singers were “too feminine”.

Here are some local reactions to the performance: