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Superbalist commercial not racist, ASA rules

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint that a television commercial of online retailer Superbalist is racist and offensive.

The commercial features different models wearing clothes and accessories that Superbalist sells.

Brenda van der Hoff complained about a scene where a white woman is shown on a television wearing braids in a hair salon filled with black women.

The caption on the television reads: “Is it appropriation or celebration?” The voice–over says: “The world is watching‚ listening‚ telling our story‚ theirs‚ hers and mine. Show them.”

Van der Hoff complained that a woman in the salon rolls her eyes and her facial expression shows that she thinks the white woman’s braids are “ridiculous”. Van der Hoff believes it is fine for black African women to wear their hair as weaves‚ braids or natural‚ but a white African woman is judged for doing the same.

Thinus Welthagen believes the commercial is racist‚ because the only white woman is “depicted as “telling a story that it is not hers to tell”. “She has braids and that is seen as a bad thing.”

Superbalist said the salon scene was a take on Kim Kardashian’s Instagram post in January this year in which she was wearing similar braids‚ which led to debates on cultural appropriation.

Marriage with an expiration date: a solution for the Tinder generation

Would a fixed-term 10-year contract be a more modern way to do marriage?

Is marriage the new rhino in the room? Could it be completely extinct within the next couple of years? If we can wipe out a whole species in a few generations, I see no reason why the institution of marriage shouldn’t be next.

The one thing you can say about the human race is that we’re resourceful when we need to be. If something isn’t working for us, we find a way around it. That’s why we went from horses as our main form of transportation to Uber. There’s certainly less horse poop to clean up now.

With a 50-something percent divorce rate, one could reasonably argue that marriage isn’t working for us anymore. But then nothing seems to last forever these days. (Cue the world’s smallest violin.) A fridge used to last more than 20 years: these days you’re lucky if it sticks around for five without leaving a puddle on the floor.

So, with the world shifting on its axis, people are starting to ask the inevitable question: Is there a more modern way to do marriage? One idea being floated is the 10-year wedding contract. Less forever and ever till death do us part, and more, forever and ever, till the ink dries.

Thebe on celeb kids: We gotta teach our kids that riches don’t come easy

Thebe says that celeb kids need to know the value of money.

hile many think that celeb kids are among the most spoilt in Mzansi, music veteran Thebe says that it’s a fine balancing act.

Speaking to Trending SA this week, Thebe said that he, like most of SA, was watching Robbie Malinga’s son on social media and reflected on the struggle to raise kids when you are in the spotlight.

“You know how you acquired money and that it wasn’t easy. So you try to teach them; ‘these things don’t come easy. I try to give you the best life but the best thing I can do is equip you with tools to do your best in life’. I believe in education. The material things I can’t offer, all I can do is equip them to be the best they can be in life.”

He said that his children must “know what they want to do” and throw themselves into it.

“I will encourage them to do whatever they want. I will guide them to do it in the best way possible. I won’t say don’t do it, but if I can tell that he wants to be a rapper and he is rubbish, then I will discourage him. But if he is good, I will guide him and encourage him.”

Thebe has grown from his days as a “party animal” and recently told Afternoon Expressthat he’s left that hectic lifestyle behind him.

“I have always managed to separate the two (realities). I have a stage persona and an off-stage persona. I am a calm guy,” he said, before adding that being a husband and a father  helped give him perspective about what was important in life.

Despite somewhat disappearing from the spotlight, Thebe is not ready to be written off just yet and has no plans to retire. He told TshisaLIVE earlier this year that he is too busy making sure that he’s collecting enough coins to avoid dying broke.

“I have my whole life worried about dying broke and when I joined the industry it was the same. I have started companies and worked in companies to make sure that I have enough of a safety net to not die broke. It is hard to watch when someone you idolise dies and their family is struggling. I don’t want that but you never know how life will pan

Davido shares the juice on how to make Africa the tip of world culture

Davido says Africa is winning.

Davido says the world is in love with Africa at the moment and we all have to do the most to make sure the cultural revolution that is sweeping the world has Africa on top.

Speaking at the Midem music festival and conference in Cannes, Nigeria recently, Davido gave props to South Africa for giving the world the most on the Black Panthersoundtrack and said Africa’s influence on the world was a cycle that is “hard to stop”.

“The whole envelope is like a cycle and when you have a cycle, it is very hard to be stopped. First it was the music, now it is the culture, the food, the fashion, and sports too,” he said, before name dropping Naomi Campbell as an example of a celeb that is totes obsessed with the continent.

Davido says that when he moved to America, he tried to do “American music” but flopped. So dude gave in to the power of Nigerian tunes and blew up. His growth from Nigeria to the world all coming from his decision to take African music to the world.

Black Panther was one of the biggest things to happen to our culture. We used to watching movies about slavery, movies about wars but it’s the first time we are seeing superheros. The (Black Panther fictional mineral) Vibranium is like African culture, it lasts long. The Nigerian football jersey was the only World Cup jersey to sell out, huh? It is crazy for the whole continent to come together.”

Skeem Saam’s Pretty was once ‘slapped across the face’ by a fan in KFC

Lerato Marabe has had some hectic fan encounters.

t can’t be easy to play a TV character despised by fans, just ask actress Lerato Marabe who was once slapped by someone who didn’t like her character.

Lerato, who plays the role of Pretty on Skeem Saam, told Drum about an incident that occurred a few years back when she and some friends were in KFC trying to get some food.

“In high school my friends and I decided to go to KFC after school. So while we were waiting in the queue, this one lady walked up to me and slapped me across the face because of the storyline at the time.”

She said she was so upset she called her mom to come fetch her. Lerato added that sometimes people expect celebs to be dolls, always in a good mood and not react.

Her colleague Thabo Mkhabela, who plays Leshole in Skeem Saam, also spoke about the abuse he got from fans.

In a conversation with TshisaLIVE earlier this year, he recounted a time when his character pretended to be someone else online, a practice called catfishing, and he was reprimanded for it by fans in real life.

“They would come to me and shout at me. They would tell me how to behave and tell me what I was doing wasn’t right. They don’t mean harm, they are just excited. But something needs to be done to educate people. They need to know what happens on TV isn’t real.”