The Mr SA pageant has again got tongues wagging on social media after snaps of this year's top 10 finalists went viral on Wednesday.

It all started when Mr SA posted pictures of the contestants participating in an underwear shoot. The winner of the Mr SA pageant will be announced at a glitzy ceremony on November 28.

Several snaps from the shoot were shared on Twitter, and users quickly compared the contestants to those in the Miss SA pageant.

The pageant's organiser had previously told TimesLIVE it was unfair to compare the two pageants, saying the criteria was different.

“To a certain extent I can understand people's misconception in terms of comparing us to Miss SA. I can't speak for their judging or entry criteria because they are a separately owned entity,” JP Robberts, CEO of the Mr SA brand, said last year.

In a post last week the pageant outlined what they were looking for in their Mr SA: “Mister SA is someone who shows attributes such as humility, compassion, integrity and professionalism. Most importantly, someone who can be a role model, an inspiration, and someone who SA’s younger generations can look up to, a everyday hero [sic].”

Still, like last year, social media was filled with comments about the finalists' looks.

Some even said the competition was so “weak” it had given them hope for entering next year.

Others defended the competition, saying the pageant should be televised so South Africans can see beauty pageant contestants they can relate to.

Here are some of the reactions: