SPOTLIGHT
BYELBROIDEN
ETFLIX’SfirstAfricanproductionQueen
Sonohasmadequitethesplashthesepast
fewweeks.Notonlydidit landonmultiple‘most
watched’listsinNetflixterritories,butit’sshown
theworldthatAfricanstorieshavethepotentialtoresonate
witha universalaudience.Ofcourse,it’shadquiteaneffect
onitsstar,PearlThusi,aswell,andtheactressrecently
spokeabouttheimportanceoftheshowforhercareerand
whatit meansfortheAfricanentertainmentindustrygoing
forward.
“I reachedthepointinmycareerafterdoingshowslike
Quanticoanda fewmovieswhereI didn’twantreverence
andrespectformycareertocomefromAmericanvalidation.
I’mtryingtopush,onmypersonallevelandevenusingmy
career,thatAfricansneedtobeproudofAfricanswhilethey
arestillinAfrica,”Pearlsaid.“I lookuptoandreallyhavea
lotofrespectfortheNigerianculture;theyreallyhavea lot
ofprideanda strongspiritofself-belief.Theyhavea really
strongentertainmentindustry,whereasspecificallyinSouth
Africaandotherpartsofsub-SaharanAfrica,peoplewant
validationfromfirst-worldpropertiesandindustries.For
example,BlackCoffeedoesa songwithDrakeandallofa
suddenhe’smorepopularthanwhathewasbefore.Thatis
veryimportant– however,wecanbesuperstarsrighthere
athome,likeDavidoandBurnaBoy, whohavespreadtheir
wingsthroughouttheworld,butthecoreoftheirmusicand
identityis Nigerian.”
PearladdedthatshehopesaudiencesareinspiredbyQueen
andhermessageofdetermination.
“Queenis thetypeofspyyou’vereallyneverseenbefore.
Firstofall,she’sa blackwoman,ofwhichtherearevery
few,workingamongstmanymenandtakinga leadingrole
intermsofcreatingtheplansandthinkingonherfeet.Also,
ona thirdworldcontinentwherethingslookdifferent,for
example the technology, even the roads and buildings.”THEBACHELORETTE’SCHADJOHNSONARRESTEDFORROBBERY&
DOMESTICVIOLENCE
WEcametoknowhimasTheBachelorette’s ultimatebadboy– butperhaps
ChadJohnson’s takenthatimagea littletooseriously.Therealityhottie,who
appearedonJoJoFletcher’s seasonofTheBachelorette, wasarrestedlate
lastmonthafteranargumentwithhisgirlfriendAnnaliseMishlerbrokeout.
AccordingtoMishler’slegalrepresentative,a neighbourcalledthepoliceafter
claimingtohearandseeanaltercationinvolvinga manpoundingona door
andscreamingprofanities.Mishler’slegalteamaddsthatAnnalisetriedto
callthepolicebutwasunsuccessfulafterChadgrabbedandthrewherphone.
MishlerclaimedJohnson‘sortofbackhandedherrighteye’thepreviousnight
and‘alsohadhersweatshirttwistedinhishand,liftingherofftheground
outsideofhisapartment,soasnottoletherwalkhometoherownunit’.She
alsoreleaseda videoontosocialmediawhichshowedChadpunchinga holeinherwall.Chadrecently
brokehissobrietyclaimingstressledhimtodrinkagainbutreleaseda statementapologisingforhis
behaviour.“I’msupersorrytoanygirlthathasseenmygirlfriend’sstory;toanygirlthathaswatched
thatandfeltthatemotionthattriggersallthesebademotionstopeople,ofthebadthingsthatthey’ve
hadhappen,”hesaid.“I am sorry. I never meant to make anybody thinkallofthese things. I’m just
sorry for my actions.”
RUPAULDRAGRACESTARSHERRYPIE
DISQUALIFIEDAFTERCATFISHINGCLAIMS
YIKES!Thereis somemajorrdramaunfolding
intheRuPaul’sDragRaceworkroomatthe
moment.Asthe12thseasonpremieres,
contestantSherryPiehasofficiallybeen
disqualifiedaftermultiplecatfishingclaims
madeagainsthim,whichhethenadmitted
toandapologisedforina statementofhis
own.SherryPie, otherwiseknownasJoey
Gugliemelli, wasaccusedofposingasa casting
directorwholedactorsovere-mailtosubmit
auditiontapesofthemselvesdoing‘degrading’
things.“Inlightofrecentdevelopmentsand
SherryPie’s statement,SherryPiehasbeen
disqualifiedfromRuPaul’sDragRace,” a
spokespersonforVH1andWorldofWonder
said.“Outofrespectforthehardworkof
the other queens, VH1 will air the season as58
WE’VE got all your
entertainment
needs covered.
Pearl Thusi
On Why
QUEEN SONO
IS IMPORTANT FOR
SOUTH AFRICA