A Zendaya Look-Alike Contest in Oakland Crowns its Winner

Seven contestants stood with their backs to the crowd of onlookers on a chilly, gray afternoon, anxiously awaiting the results of the Zendaya look-alike contest at Wilma Chan Park in Oakland, the actress’ hometown.

Event organizer Cassi Simms slowly walked down the line of potential winners on Wednesday, anticipation building as they passed each hopeful.

Just as the rain started up again, Simms reached Zainab Bansfield from San Francisco and tapped her on the shoulder. The crowd of around 60 onlookers erupted in cheers as Bansfield was crowned “Miss Zendaya” with a sash and prize basket.

She said she didn’t expect to win — partly because she’s a hijabi.

“I really thought that the hijab would throw people off,” Bansfield said. “Honestly, I’m really glad that they saw something in me.”

Simms said they were judging not just on how much someone looked like Zendaya, but whether they matched her energy and vibe. Most contestants dressed up as different characters from the actress’ career, such as Tashi Duncan from the movie Challengers and Rue from the HBO series Euphoria.

But organizers also put contestants to the test with a dance-off, a catwalk competition and a pop quiz on Zendaya trivia.

“I don’t want people to think that it’s only just a beauty contest, because that’s not what it is,” Simms said. “It’s also just a fun thing. It’s just a shitpost at the end of the day.”

Several spontaneous celebrity look-alike contests have cropped up across the country in recent weeks, taking social media by storm. The inaugural competition for Timothée Chalamet doubles in New York City even had a surprise contestant: the actor himself.

Earlier this month across the bay, San Franciscans held a contest at Mission Dolores Park to find Dev Patel doppelgängers.

Simms took inspiration from these to plan Oakland’s own spin on the trend, getting the word out through flyers and social media. They said Zendaya was the perfect subject because of her upbringing and philanthropy in Oakland. Earlier this year, the actress donated $100,000 to Cal Shakes, the outdoor theater where she got her start. (On Nov. 1, the 50-year old nonprofit announced it had suspended operations and begun liquidating its assets.)

Wednesday’s contest was the first in the look-alike trend to make a female celebrity its subject. That brought its own set of challenges, Simms said.

“There were a lot of talks about misogyny, a lot of people saying not to come because of misogyny, which is totally understandable, and I empathize with a lot,” Simms said. “The anonymity of who I was really affected things because I am a Black woman — I don’t think people expected me to be.”

Bansfield and other contestants said they weren’t worried about social media backlash or hate, though.

Organizers highlighted mutual aid efforts for Palestine, Sudan and the Congo, and solicited donations for East Bay Food Not Bombs, a food justice collective. Bansfield was among those who donated and said she was proud to see that the organizers had made mutual aid a part of the event.

“Everybody here was super kind, super beautiful, super nice,” Bansfield said. “The community here is amazing.”