Image: Gallo Images/Daily Sun/Morapedi Mashashe
Forget Babes and Mampintsha or Ntsiki’s latest tweet, the real spice was happening this year on the production of a Lebo Mathosa biopic.
BET Africa announced in March that it was working on a biopic of the late music icon’s life.
Fans packed social media with suggestions on who should play the role of Lebo, with even Skolopad and Zodwa registering their interest.
The producers held auditions and in September, City Press reported that Somizi’s daughter Bahumi and singer Kelly Khumalo were set to star on the project.
Some fans were not impressed by Bahumi getting the role and claimed she did not have enough experience. In the wake of the Twitter storm, Somizi wrote a letter of encouragement to his daughter.
The publication later claimed that Kelly was no longer part of the project and she herself spoke of the conditions she faced on set of the production.
iacom announced in October that KB Motsilanyane and Bahumi had secured the role of Lebo. Bahumi would play the younger version of Lebo, while KB would play the star as an adult.
The decision split fans, who flooded social media to share their thoughts on the casting.
Outspoken poet and musician Ntsiki Mazwai joined in the conversation and claimed that KB didn’t have the same energy as Lebo.
“KB may have white people connections but she doesn’t have the Lebo Mathosa energy. Not by a long shot,” she wrote.
KB later shot back at the critics, telling TshisaLIVE that she wanted to tell Lebo’s story, not be her.