Mihlali Ndamase takes the hotseat on Showmax’s Unfollowed
This week on Showmax’s Unfollowed saw Mihlali Ndamase, a superstar influencer and content creator, interviewed by Thembekile Mrototo on burning questions about homewrecking, gold digging, and alleged assault.
Unfollowed interviews a vast number of local personalities surrounding the scandalous topic of the cancel culture, while also interrogating the usefulness of such an approach.
Straight off the bat after a rundown of her career, Thembikile asks her “are you a homewrecker?”. One can quickly sense the mood shift, with some discomfort from the Youtube star as she tries to dodge the questions with this response, “The only thing I will say about that is that when people have nothing to come at you about, then they are going to find something to constantly dig at you.
“Like they are going to find something that they think might be a weakness that they can constantly dig at you. And honestly, people’s opinions have nothing to do with my reality. So…I don’t have much to say about that.”
Thembekile quickly asks, “…are you still with the man in question?”, to which she answers: “I’m in a happy relationship and I’m very much in love. That’s all people should know,” admitting that she is in fact seeing businessman Leeroy Sibande.
Below is a quick rundown of what their conversation entailed.
“It’s not my place to wait. I’m not the one who’s married.”
Mihlali’s interview is a lesson in setting boundaries. When Thembekile asks her, “Why a married man?” she fires back, “Oh, no, darling. It’s not my place to wait. I’m not the one who’s married. It is him who decided that he wants to find a partner and date someone.”
“People’s opinions have nothing to do with my reality.”
Thembekile probes Mihlali about what it has been like to trend every time her lover Leeroy Sidambe’s divorce woes, legal battles and business scandals make headlines.
“When people have nothing to come at you about, then they are going to find something to constantly dig at. They’re going to try and find something that they feel like might be a weakness … honestly people’s opinions have nothing to do with my reality,” says Mihlali. Later she explains that she keeps her private life private because, “I feel like in this industry, every single woman’s work then gets linked to a man and a man is credited for who she is.”
“I’ve got my own money! Are you mad?”
And when Thebekile asks her, “Did you get with Leroy because he’s got money?” Mihlali gasps in mock outrage and asks, “I’ve got my own money! Are you mad?… There’s a lot of men with money in the world. But do they respect women?”
Confronted with rumours that her lover has mistreated his ex-wife, his ex-girlfriend, and their children, Mihlali shrugs and says, “I will not speak on anything that I do not know about.”
“Have you seen me assaulting anyone?”
Mihlali gets even more slippery when Thembekile tries to pin her down on claims that she assaulted internet troll Musawenkosi Khawula, who leaked her phone number and address online, petitioned for brands to cut ties with her, and insulted her mother.
“Have you seen me assaulting anyone?” Mihlali asks mischievously. “I don’t know who that is. All I’m gonna say is, if you come for my family, I will come for you. Full stop. Next question.”
In Mihlali’s world, it’s no receipts, no secrets. And if you keep prying, she’ll just laugh and laugh and pretend that she didn’t hear you, whether you’re asking if she’s had a BBL, who bought her car and pays her rent, or what goes on in brand boardrooms every time she trends.
In Unfollowed, Mihlali also talks about her biggest mistake on Twitter. And media experts comment on the social media trolls who try to raise their profiles by targeting high profile women with misogynistic abuse, and how influencers navigate the tricky intersection of reputation, brand damage, and creating the kind of content that drives page views.