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Kelly K’s snub to Ntsiki’s outrage: All the drama around the Lebo Mathosa biopic

Actress and musician KB Motsilanyane was cast as Lebo Mathosa in 'Dream: The Lebo Mathosa' story.

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.

Ann Masina on being told she’s ‘too fat’ for roles

Opera singer Ann Masina opens up about being body shamed.

Internationally renowned SA opera singer Ann Masina is determined to fight against those who body shame and bully her, including while playing the role of Saartjie Baartman in the hit theatre show Venus vs Modernity.

The plus-sized singer played the lead role alongside award-winning poet Lebo Mashile.

The production explores the links between Saartjie’s experiences on show in Europe with the modern day struggles of body issues, gender based violence and sexuality.

The star told TshisaLIVE that she has often been discriminated against because of her weight and said it even reared its ugly head while performing the thought-provoking piece.

“I was on stage and there was a couple filming me. They were zooming in on my body, just my body, and making remarks about my size. I felt in that moment like Saartjie would have.”

She said the incident left her disgusted and determined to speak out.

“I was not being appreciated for my talents. I had been relegated to an animal, a toy, an exhibit to be poked at and made fun of. I was not human in that moment and in 2019, that cannot be accepted. We cannot be silent” she said.

Ann added that her weight had seen her being bullied, contributed to her marriage falling apart and being told to her face that she was too fat to perform on certain projects.

“I have often felt like I am judged. There was this one incident where I was auditioning for a part in a project and when I finished auditioning the director told me bluntly; ‘You have a beautiful voice but I cannot cast you because you are too fat.”

She said it made her feel she was being judged for her weight and not her talent.

“It is horrible. Suddenly you don’t get cast because of how you look. It shows me that I am not my voice but I am my body.”

Cassper’s team reveals that #FillUp stage costs more than R8m

Cassper Nyovest's stage cost a hella lot of money.

Like all of the stages before it, it was imposing … and expensive.

When a fan came calling for a similar set-up at the upcoming We Back Home Festival, Cassper’s manager T-Lee Moiloa dropped some financial files.

T-Lee claimed that the #FillUp stage is R8.3m, excluding extras, and takes a rotating crew of 50 people seven days to build.

“Brother, that stage is R8,300,000 with additional random costs. Crew of 50 per shift to build, 2 x shifts per day, you cater and provide accommodation for all. Seven days straight. Basically minimum cover charge has to be R600 for 15,000 capacity venue just for stage,” he explained.

Despite scoring several sponsorships for the concert, #FillUpBafokengStadium still cost millions to produce.

Speaking about the bill he had to foot after a previous concert, Cassper said he was thrown into R7m debt last year.

“We went through a ditch after (#FillUpMoses) Mabhida. Had to pay 7-million rand in debt, then the tax thing happened as well. I’m only starting to recover now. Should be back in progress in a couple of months and then we rock,” he told fans in June.

He later told his fans that he didn’t want to be burnt again and was more cautious in planning shows for his signature series.

“Don’t wanna make last year’s mistakes and have people drop us last minute in a pile of debt,” he explained.

POLL | Who do you think 2019’s song of the year should go to?

Fans are torn between Kabza de Small and DJ Zinhle's songs.

So who will take the title this year?

To top things off, Ukhozi FM’s list of contenders this year has been met with backlash from social media users.

The list includes Samthing Soweto, Kabza de Small, Maphorisa, DJ Zinhle, Ntencane, DJ Tira, Sami-Tee, TNS and Blaq Diamond, to name a few.

This is not the first time the radio station has been accused of showing favouritism to its “own”.

Last year’s song of the year divided the nation after Ukhozi FM announced Prince Kaybee and Busiswa’s Banomoya as its song of the year and placed King Monada’s Malwedhe in third place.

While the announcement was celebrated by some, others said the only reason KwaZulu-Natal people did not vote for King Monada was because he was from Limpopo.

Hitting back at the tribalism debate at the time, Prince Kaybee said he didn’t understand how the song of the year vote was about tribalism, as he was not Zulu.

Tumelo Matlala describes his wedding as a ‘dream’

Tumelo Matlala, who portrays detective Roberts on the popular soapie, tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Ziphelele Beku at the weekend.

The actor and gospel star held the ceremony in King William’s Town, in the Eastern Cape. He took to his social media to share some snaps from the big day.

The whole family looked regal in modern black and white traditional Xhosa attires. Ziphelele Beku and Tumelo Matlala,

In an Instagram post, Tumelo said this wedding is a dream come and thanked attendees for honouring their invite.

Tumelo could hardly contain his excitement about this new milestone and expressed that he’s looking forward to a life of marital bliss while introducing himself and his wife as newlyweds.

“God is amazing. We had a dream and on the 15th December 2019 God made it a reality and we are grateful. We also like to thank everyone who came to experience and celebrate with us as we began a journey of grace and favour. I pronounce to you Mr and Mrs Matlala [sic],” he shared.