The issue of colour in South African entertainment has persisted even though many people wouldn’t agree it exists in the first place. Mzansi actor Thembinkosi Mthembu has ignited the debate once again after he referred to himself as light-skinned.
In South Africa, the narrative has persisted that people often get roles in the entertainment industry because they are light-skinned or bear the physiognomy of someone who could pass for British or American, while those who do not have such features are studiously ignored.
But, of course, the supposed beneficiaries of this reality would insist that they got their gigs on their talent and not on their physical appeal and light skin.
Anyway, Thembinkosi Mthembu is the man in the news at the moment. During a conversation with Sunday World, the Ishaka Ilemba actor had noted that he didn’t expect to get the role because he was light-skinned.
However, when pictures of the actor surfaced online showing that he looks somewhat dark in complexion, South Africans took to mocking him and his claims. One critic mocking noted that if Thembinkosi Mthembu is indeed light-skinned, then he, the critic, is caucasian.
Last we checked, the actor had not responded to those mocking his claims.
