Reality television star Ayanda Ncwane has addressed claims that she is a mean girl and a tribalist.
This comes after the star was dragged on social media last week for comments she made about her co-star Kgomotso Ndungane.
In the finale episode of the hit Showmax series, the “Real Housewives of Durban”, viewers found offence in a conversation between Ayanda and Nonkanyiso “Laconco” Chonco.
The pair were discussing recent drama with Laconco saying she wanted to ask Kgomotso what language she was fluent in since she spoke “terrible English and Setswana”.
Ayanda then went on to say that Kgomotso was not black.
While the subtitles read “She is not black, she’s Tswana”, viewers felt that Ayanda was out of line for making that comment and labelled it tribalist.
Person in Zulu is “umuntu”, the word Ayanda used. A black person in Zulu is “umuntu omnyama”, which she did not say.
Speaking to IOL Entertainment sister publication, Isolezwe, Ayanda said she was not a disrespectful person and that the subtitles were not correct.
"The subtitles did not properly translate what I was saying.
“I will explain everything properly during the reunion show, but I will say this; when we gather as a group of people in KZN, we classify people according to their tribes such as umuntu (Zulu speaking person), Indian, Coloured and Xhosa speaking people”, she said.
She further added: "If people heard me correctly, I said Kgomotso is not Zulu she is a Tswana person. I will explain everything properly but I am not a mean person at all”.
Responding to the backlash at the time, Nomsa Philiso, MultiChoice Channel Director: Local Entertainment said, “As a streaming platform, Showmax does not endorse any actions or comments made on any of the content available, be it reality TV or fictional series and movies or documentaries.
“We believe good content should encourage debate and discussions on key issues in our society. As a company, Showmax believes South Africa belongs to all who live in it. We reject any form of discrimination.”