THE seventh annual gay-friendly Feather Awards which took place at the Johannesburg City Hall last night saw the country’s hottest celebrities flaunting their wild side on the red carpet.
Water Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, who is a previous Feather winner, seemed to shrug off the water shortage issues for a night of delightful fun which saw performances by Simphiwe Dana and Boom Shaka, who did a medley of their biggest songs.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba received the award for Best Styled Male. Best Styled Female went to high profile actress and “It” girl Nomzamo Mbatha.
Other winners on the night included Bonang Matheba for Drama Queen of the Year. This was owing to her high-profile love life, which included Africa’s biggest star, D’Banj, as well as her alleged affair with rapper AKA, allegedly while his girlfriend, DJ Zinhle, was pregnant with his child.
Thanks a million to the @featherssa for this #BestStylesMale2015 Award scooped last night ... pic.twitter.com/3o6tsSc6b3
— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) November 13, 2015
Hunk of the Year went to actor Vuyo Dabula, and Hot Chick went to actress Jessica Nkosi. House music duo Black Motion won Cutest Couple, beating Toya Delazy and her girlfriend Alison, as well as Caster Semenya and her partner, Violet. Black Motion’s colleague, the bearded rapper Ricky Rick, scooped Musician of the Year. Ouma Tema was delighted with her Diva Extraordinaire trophy.
The gay publication Mamba Online received Media of the Year and Mpho Maboi was Sports Personality of the Year.
Vintage Crew received Socialites of the Year, a category defined by the organisers as “seen at every opening of an envelope or erection of a stop sign”.
@NomzamoMbatha just arrived #ChevyFeathers2015 pic.twitter.com/568ylpJJCE
— Zkhiphani.com (@Zkhiphani) November 12, 2015
Actor Atandwa Kani received Fag Hag of the Year while on a more serious note, Role Model of the Year went to Steve Letsike. The latter is a leading LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and intersex and human rights activist.
The Feather of the Year Award went to Banyana Banyana’s Portia Modise who is “an out and proud” lesbian.
QUEEN THEMBI!!!!!! #ChevyFeathers2015
A video posted by The Feather Awards SA (@featherssa) on Nov 12, 2015 at 1:10pm PST
This was also the first year that the Feathers recognised the struggle for LGBTI rights throughout Africa. They hosted seven African delegates from the SADC region and introduced African Feather of the Year which was won by Titica, a transgender musician from Angola. Titica gave a fine performance on the night.
The Mercury